ROTBTD AU Hogwarts- The Old Norse Scroll
by TheWorldGoesBoom
Summary: There are two kinds of secrets. Those we keep from ourselves, and those we keep from others. Merida, Hiccup and Rapunzel have been going to Hogwarts since they were 11. When Jack Frost arrives during their 6th year, darker powers have already begun stirring within one of them. Secrets have torn the Big Four apart. Secrets are what holds them together.
1. Chapter 1

"Are you sure you have everything?" Elinor demanded, her flame-headed daughter looking distractedly off in the distance. "You haven't forgotten your owl, or your wand? You have all your textbooks, and your cauldron?"

"I'm very sure mum." Merida rolled her eyes.

Elinor clasped her hands together, and smiled elegantly down at her daughter.

"Remember to behave, Merida." She warned sternly. Elinor opened her mouth to say more, but Merida cut her off.

"Yes mum, I'll behave. Be a proper princess and whatnot. Now I have to go, or the train'll leave without me!" Merida turned impatiently towards the train, clasping her trolley's handle excitedly. She couldn't wait to arrive at Hogwarts. Freedom awaited her, just beyond the train tracks that led to the worlds greatest school of magic.

"I'll miss you lassie." Fergus squeezed his daughter in a farewell hug, wrapping his large arms around her small body. "I can't wait to see yer first game on the pitch!" He said excitedly."See my daughter dodging those bludgers and givin' those Slytherins a hard time." He mimicked ducking as though he were straddling a broom and gave a toothy grin at his young daughter.

Merida beamed brightly at her father. Fergus supported her life-long dream of becoming a quidditch player, unlike her mother, who deemed it improper for the future Queen of Scotland to play such a rough sport.

"I'll be sure Dad." Merida assured him. "There's nothing thats gonna stop me from being part of that team." A faint warning whistle echoed throughout the train station. "I have to go now, I have to find a compartment before the train fills up."

Merida began taking eager steps towards the red train, ready to start her exciting new life as a witch.

"Goodbye, Merida." Her mother called.

"Bye Mum, bye Dad!" She called over her shoulder, not bothering to stop.

"Goodbye lassie, you do us proud!" Her father boomed. Merida's grin only grew.

Finally. Freedom.

"Be careful, my dear flower." Gothel crooned, holding her daughters head close to her chest. "Remember to-"

"Keep my secret safe. Yes, mother, I know." Rapunzel assured her, hugging her mother goodbye before she left for Hogwarts. "I promise that no one will ever know about my hair."

"I'm just a little worried, dear. The ruffians and thugs-"

"Will be no match for me, once I graduate. I promise, I'll do well in school."

"I had no doubts, my flower." She squeezed her daughter harder, until she reluctantly let go.

Rapunzel smiled nevously. "I'll do you proud, mother. I promise."

Gothel only nodded. Rapunzel grasped her trolley's handle and pulled, her small frame pulling the many books after her, as the tawny cat named Sola yawned. The small cat was perched atop the trolley, spread out among the many books Rapunzel had insisted upon bringing.

"Bye, mother! I promise I'll visit you on Christmas break!" Rapunzel waved excitedly.

"Farewell, Flower. I love you!"

"I love you more!"

"I love you most."

Rapunzel looked back, over her shoulder at her mother. She had her shawl clasped tightly with thin fingers, the smile plastered over her face clearly hiding some deeper emotions. Was it fear, sadness maybe? Was this a bad choice? Her mother would be so lonely, and Rpunzel would just feel bad for abandoning her mother-

Rapunzel shook her head. It didn't matter. She was on her way to Hogwarts, to become a witch, and nothing could stop her. Rapunzel had lived her whole life up in that tower, and now was finally her chance to see the world.

"Try not to burn anything down while you're there." Stoick said gruffly. He pulled his sons trolley after him. They were already late to board the train and his son lagged behind, lugging the large owl cage behind him.

"No promises, Dad." Hiccup huffed.

They stopped in front of the crimson red train, steam already trailing from the stacks.

"Come on, Hiccup! You're gonna be late." Stoick eyed the oddly dressed people around him awkwardly, feeling out of place. Wizards were odd, he thought to himself. And very small.

Hiccup's father towered over other people, and he had to squeeze past many of them just to reach the steps of the train. His son came up behind him, and stood awkwardly facing his father for a moment.

"Well, I better go-"

"You should-"

They said at the same time. They stood there awkwardly for moments, before his dad patted him firmly on the back, nearly knocking the small boy over.

"You do...well at this school. And try to make at least one sports team." Stoick rumbled, his deep voice and strong accent ringing out across the sea of wizards. Many people murmured around them, taking notice the stark contrast between the two.

Hiccup shifted awkwardly.

"There is only one sports team, dad. And I'm pretty sure I won't be making this one." Hiccup sighed. "Well...I'll just be going then." He pointed to the train with a long finger, covered in small blisters from years of working in the forge.

Stoick nodded. Hiccup readjusted his grip on his young, great grey owls cage. He had named the owl Volr, a traditional Viking name. Someday, the young fledgling would turn into a massive beast, reaching almost a metre high. Though the shop owner had suggested choosing a smaller owl, Hiccup had insisted on this one, as he had felt a certain connection.

Hiccup took a great breath and stepped onto the train, hoping that this was a step in the right direction. He was finally going to prove himself worthy, and this was the only way to do it.

He was going to become a wizard, and he was going to make his father proud.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer for all future chapters: I do not own any of the characters in this book. All rights go to Dreamworks, Disney, and Pixar companies.**

**Authors note**

**Hello there, lovely readers. This is my first ever Fanfic, and I am really nervous about whether people will read it or not. Please leave reviews on what I need to change or edit throughout the story, or any ideas or predictions you have. I would love to hear from you! I will be updating once a week, unless this Fanfic gets 15 reviews, then I will do it twice a week! I've already finished 4 or 5 chapters of this story and wouldn't mind posting them early as long as I get some reviews...Anyways, read on! I hope you enjoy it!**

I sat alone in a compartment, my leg bouncing impatiently as I waited for the parting whistle, indicating that I would finally be leaving this station to start an hours long journey to freedom.

I stared out the window dully, trying to discern my parents from the many faces crowding the station. I couldn't spot my fathers towering figure, nor my mothers glinting golden crown among the hubbub of people.

Behind me, came the faint scraping of the sliding door, opening to admit a friendly face, framed with golden locks, all tucked into a large braid nearly running the length of girl herself.

"Hello?" She asked, her voice light and airy. "Is this compartment taken?"

I smiled and pointed at the seat across from me. " Go ahead lassie. There isn't anyone in here but me."

The girl gave a small smile and brought in her cat. "I hope you don't mind my cat. Her name is Sola." She told me.

I shook my head. "Of course not, got a cat myself, back at home."

Once the girl had had time to settle into her seat, I turned my attention to her.

"So, whats your name?" I asked her.

"Rapunzel Corona. What's yours?'' Rapunzel tucked some hair behind her ear.

I gave a firm nod. "Merida DunBroch, of Scotland." I didn't feel the need to tell mention I was royalty. I wanted to start anew here, and that included dropping the title of 'princess'.

Rapunzel smiled and peered out the window.

"Who is that?" She asked, leaning closer to the window.

Curious, I peered out the window as well. A tall burly man, with large muscles caught my attention. He stood, looming over a small skinny boy carrying a large cage with a tiny owl nestled inside. The man carried the trolley behind him, as though it weighed nothing.

"Oi, that's quite the scrawny boy he's got there." I told her.

"I wonder if that's his father...he's so...huge." Rapunzel said nodding, observing the odd pair.

Suddenly, the man reached down to pat the boy in a somewhat reassuring manner, only to nearly knock him over.

I scoffed. "Poor lad."

I watched as the boy stepped up on to the train after what seemed a briefly awkward conversation. For some reason, I felt a certain attachment to this boy. While others stared at the behemoth of a man looming over them, I focused on the boy. Something deep in my mind pulled at the sight of him, making me feel as though I had met him before or known him very long ago. I couldn't shake the feeling even after his father disappeared from view.  
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I peered through the glass of another compartment's door, only to find it full as well. I sighed. How did they all fill up so fast? The train had already pulled away from the station and was now beginning to rumble along it's tracks. Surely, there had to be another compartment? As I approached the back of train, I was beginning to lose hope. That is, until I discovered one of the last three compartments to be nearly empty. I took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

A girl slid the door open and looked at me. She beckoned for me to enter, smiling.

"Thanks." I muttered. I stepped into the compartment. A second girl sat there, though this was one looked much different.

The girl who had opened the door for me had long, golden hair tucked into a thick braid, woven with a few flowers. The second girl had a mane of fiery hair, wild and untamed. While the first girl had gentle facial features and large, doeful green eyes, the second girl had defined cheekbones, but a softer jawline. Her bright blue eyes sparkled with determination.

"I-uh, was wondering if this compartment was full." I stammered. "I mean it's fine if it is or something, I mean I could go sit outside or-"

"It's fine." The fiery-haired girl said, her voice ringing with a strong Scottish accent, reminding me of home. "We weren't expecting anyone else."

The girl with the long golden hair smiled kindly. "Go ahead and sit." She gestured to the seat beside the Scot.

"Uh, thanks." I muttered, relieved I wouldn't have to sit outside for the train ride. I walked over and sat down beside the Scot, close to the door.

The green-eyed girl sat down across from me and stroked her cat, who was laying in the sunlight. I shuffled nervously in my seat before the Scot spoke up.

"So, wee lamb, whats your name?"

"Uh...Hiccup. Just Hiccup." I said with a small nod.

"That's an odd name." The Scot frowned.

"Yeah, I know. Could be worse though, my cousin's name is Snotlout."

The Scot gave a short laugh.

"Well, Hiccup, my name is Merida DunBroch of Scotland." She jabbed a thumb over at the second girl. "Blondie over here is Rapunzel Corona."

"Hello." Rapunzel gave a small wave.

Merida and Rapunzel, the Scot and Blondie.

"So, Punzie" Merida said. "How did you get you're letter?"

Rapunzel gave a tiny hint of a smile. "It's not a very exciting story."

"I don't care." Merida said. "Tell us!"

"Okay...I guess." Rapunzel blushed slightly and began her story. I listened intently, interested as to how others received their letters.

"Well, one day I was just sitting at home, reading..."


	3. Chapter 3

**Authors Note**

**Thank you to my very first reviewer Vdlovesbooks! This first review meas so much to me! another thank you goes to geekyglamour413 as well as narniapotterhead. Thank you also to those who are following my story, and to those who made it a favorite! Thank you all so much for the support. It's a really nice feeling to see people are actually reading your story! Anyways, here's the next chapter, enjoy!**

"Well, one day i was just sitting at home reading when suddenly, in the kitchen I heard a crash." I took a moment to breathe. "At first I had thought it was just Pascal, rummaging through the pots-"

"Pascal?" Hiccup asked.

"Oh, sorry. He's my pet chameleon."

Hiccup frowned slightly, but Merida gestured for me to continue.

"I thought he was just rummaging through the pots, but then there was more clanging,and Pascal was right across from me. I came out of my room, thinking something had just fallen, but then I saw an owl. He was a light brown and grey and he held a small letter. I would have waited for mother, she knows so much more about owls than me, but he seemed so friendly, so I walked over and he hopped closer. I was a little scared, but he just wanted to give me the letter. I opened the letter and opened it, then the owl flew away. I felt like dancing, I was so excited about going somewhere magical. I couldn't believe I was going to an actual school for magic, just like in the story books." I looked over at Sola, who rested peacefully on the cushion. I gave a small, rueful smile. "I practically had to beg mother to let me go, she was so worried about me. She told me that if I passed the first three grades, that I could stay to graduate." I looked up at Hiccup and Merida. Merida looked very intrigued while Hiccup scribbled something down quickly in some notebook.

"Sounds interesting. Wish mine was a bit more celebratory, than required." Merida said, quietly.

"What do you mean?" I asked her.

Hiccup suddenly snapped his journal closed, shocking Merida out of her memories. He tucked it back into his vest and turned towards Merida.

"My parents have very...high expectations for me." She said. "More my Mum than anyone. She always expects the best of me. We had already known I was a witch, longest line of purebloods in all of Scotland" Merida sounded very proud of her heritage."Nowhere else had ever been an option for my parents. Only the best would do." She huffed and crossed her arms, leaning back in her seat.

"So how did you get your letter?" I asked her.

"Well, I was outside with my father, and we were practicing shooting in the courtyard. My Mum doesn't really approve of this." Again, Merida's face pinched into a small frown. "When suddenly a small white owl flew right in front of the targets! I was so shocked that my arrow went flying, straight at the poor beastie. Luckily, my dad was watching and managed to shoot the arrow of course." Merida slowly uncrossed her arms, lost in the fond memory. "I of course, read the letter. I was gonna be taught magic at the best school in all of the land! My Dad was so proud, my Mum practically beamed at me. Then, the celebrations ended and we all got down to business. Mum practically dragged me all over Scotland, insisting that I have the best money could buy."

"You guys must have been pretty wealthy." Hiccup noted.

Merida stiffened. "Not really. We had just been...saving up I s'pose." She muttered.

Seeing as Merida felt uncomfortable at the mention of money, I moved on to Hiccup.

"What about you?"

"What?" He asked.

"How did you get your letter?" I asked him.

"Oh. Uh, well it's not as daring as Merida's story or as cool as yours or anything-"

"Just tell us the story." Merida rolled her eyes.

"Ok, uh...well I was in the forest one really cold afternoon, you know, dragon raids and everything-"

"Dragon raids?" I squeaked.

"Uh, yeah. You guys don't get them?"

"No! Dragons..." I said.

"You guys have dragons on..."

"Berk." He said. "Really small village, located above the meridian of misery, just south of the devestating sea. Great place." He noted sarcastically.

"So you guys get raided by...dragons?" I asked.

He frowned. "Yeah. Giant, fiery beasts. Like to carry away food, attack random villagers. You guys don't get raided by dragons?"He sounded equally as shocked as I was.

"Not by dragons." Merida scoffed. "More like Vikings. Bloody barbarians." She growled.

"Oh-oh, yeah. Uh-us too. Darn Vikings." Hiccup paled slightly.

There was an awkward silence before Merida seemed to get over her anger with the Vikings.

"So, the dragon raid aside, how did you get your letter?" She asked, leaning forward in her seat. I inched a little closer as well, eager to hear his story.

"Oh,yeah. Uh...story. Okay." Hiccup didn't meet Merida's eyes. "Well I was still in the forest, doing uh-stuff, when a horned owl flew out of a tree. It swooped at me and I did what every normal person would do."

"You fought back?" Merida asked.

"Uh-no." Hiccup shifted. "I ducked. The owl just kept flying, straight into a tree. It was holding a letter. I thought it was some sort of replacement messenger hawk or something, so I brought the letter back to the village." Hiccup shifted in his chair again, tapping his fingers against his thigh. " The raid was close to ending, and I was walking behind the houses, trying to avoid running into anyone-"

"Not the dragons?" I asked. Why would he want to avoid the people, why not the dragons?

"Uh-yeah, sure. Well, I found my way home and gave uh, the chief the letter-"

"Wait," Merida said. "Your chief was in your house?"

"Uh, no, no actually he was outside-"

"You just said he was in your house."I said.

"Uh yes, actually he was in my house but that was because he was...checking in on...my grandmother and-"

"Spill it laddie." Merida said, cutting him off. "Why was he really there?"

Hiccup scratched the back of his head and muttered something incoherently.

"What?" Merida and I said at the same time.

"That's because the chief is...my Dad, Stoick the Vast." He sighed.

"So you're like royalty!" I said.

"No, no, no." Hiccup stammered. "It's more like a family...business. He doesn't really have a choice."

I could tell Hiccup found it a touchy subject, much as Merida and her family and I decided to question him about it later.

"So you gave your Dad, the chief, your letter..."

"Yeah, yes. He didn't really believe me. I mean, an owl attacking you, then giving you a letter, saying you are enrolled at a magical school. How belivable is that? At first he denied it, refusing to let me go-"

"Didn't anyone else in your village go to Hogwarts, or any other schools?" Merida questioned.

"Uh, no actually."

"So not only are you a chiefs son, you're also the first to ever learn magic?" I asked. This was amazing.

Hiccup looked very uncomfortable with all this attention directed at him. I didn't know why I was so fascinated with his life, but it was just so interesting, so different. It was like a story from my books, the mythical creatures and royalty...it was amazing.

"Uh- no, no. I mean it's not that big of a deal, I mean it can't be the first time..."

"So after your Dad said you couldn't go, what happened?" Merida asked, slightly annoyed by all my questions.

"Well it took some convincing, but eventually I proved it was real. It took some...time, but eventually, you know, he said yes. "

"That was great." I said.

Suddenly, our door slid open and an older girl stepped in. A prefect, I think, judging by her badge.

"First years, change into your robes." She said, her voice calm and slightly bored. I could imagine how many times she must have said this, to thousands of kids.

Hiccup stood up eagerly and took his robes from a satchel, laying on the ground.

"Well, good chat." He said. Then he turned on one foot and exited the compartment to get changed.

"Finally." Merida sighed, "Hogwarts at last."

**Author's note**

**Hello again. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, as the fourth one contains lots of action, and the sorting into houses...**


	4. Chapter 4

**I've been sick for a few days, meaning I have lots of extra time. So, I've decided to post this chapter early because I was able to write so much more this week. Please enjoy!**

Rapunzel and I exited the train together. We were told to leave all animals and trunks on the train, they would be apparated into the castle. I stood in my plain black robes, not yet adorned in house colours. Rapunzel and I searched the crowd for Hiccup. The small lad was bound to be lost among all these people.

"First years!" A voice called with and Australian accent. "First years to the boats!"

"Come on!" Rapunzel gripped my wrist, pulling me eagerly towards the lake.

"Calm down, Punz." I muttered.

We walked up to what looked like a giant rabbit. Only this one was covered in strange markings and carried boomerangs strapped across his chest with leather bands. Punzie stopped to stare up at the towering rabbit at a loss for words.

Suddenly, a scrawny figure enveloped in billowing robes strode towards us, dodging the people around him.

"Hey, Merida! Rapunzel!" He said.

I nearly chortled in laughter. Hiccup's robes were made much too large for him, nearly swallowing him in black, billowing fabric.

"Yeah, yeah." He sighed. "Dad may have ordered them too large."

The wind billowed through his cloke, whipping it around him in large swooping movements. Rapunzel dropped my wrist and continued staring up at the bunny.

Hiccup followed our gazes and took in the sight. His face lit up as he recognized the creature.

"You're a Pooka!" He said, pointing up at the rabbit.

The rabbit let out a deep chuckle and looked down at him.

"I've read about you. You're a powerful warrior, and your power only increases when eating 'chocolate'." Hiccup recited, pronouncing the last word very clearly, as though he were unsure what it was.

"Yes, that I am. I'm the last of my kind ya know. My names Professor Bunnymund, by the way, and I'll be your Care of Magical Creatures and your Defense Against The Dark Arts teacher." He raised his voice above the large crowd. "Everybody, three to a boat. That's it, no shoving. The boats will take us right up to Hogwarts. Get moving, you ankle-biters..." The kids began surging forwards, eager to claim a boat.

I began dragging Rapunzel forward, towards Hiccup when the crowd pushed forward, sending him over the docks. A small shout was heard from Hiccup as well as a small splash.

"Hiccup!" Rapunzel called.

Snickering and laughter could be heard among the crowd.

"Crikey!" The pooka called. "You okay, kid?" He stared down at the dark water.

"Uh-yes. Yeah I'm fine. Landed in a boat." He called back.

I gave a little sigh of relief.

"Really don't like boats." He said to himself.

I leaned over the edge, making sure to be careful and not fall in myself.

"Hiccup, what are you doing?" I called. His boat had begun to drift away from the others, as he lay on his back, trying to push himself up into a sitting position.

"I'm not actually doing anything..." He called back.

"Stop drifting you idiot!" I called.

"Leave him be." Prof. Bunnymund told me. "Just need to get these other devils into the boats and we'll be off."

As Prof. Bunnymund continued rounding up the still laughing children, Hiccup sat nervously in the boat, unsure of what to do.

Rapunzel stared anxiously at Hiccup's boat, then to the dark, murky water, then back up to Hiccup's boat.

"Relax, Punzie. He'll be fine. Let's just get into a boat so we can catch up to him."

I pulled Rapunzel over to one of the last rafts, directing her to a seat before pushing off myself and leaping in behind her.

I shook the water out of the hem of my too-large robes as kids laughed and passed me. Just my luck, first few minutes off the train and I've already caused a disaster, managed to embarrass myself in front of hundreds of students, and looked like a complete fool all the while. I scowled and squeezed the remaining water out of my cloak, then looking up, I saw Merida and Rapunzel, coming my way. I dropped the hem of my robes and stood, waiting for them.

Merida walked up to me and pulled back a fist, punching me in the arm.

"Ow!" I cried. "What was that for?"

"Being a bloody idiot." Merida glared. "If I had known you were this accident prone I would've-"

"First years over here!" A kind, high-pitched voice called out. Standing in font of two large, double doors stood a fluttering faerie, dressed in glimmering robes adorned with feathers that shone iridescent in the torchlight.

We made our way to the hovering woman and eyed her shimmering wings with awe. An actual Fae, here in the castle. What other mysterious creatures did these stones wall hold?

"Welcome first years, to Hogwarts, school of witchcraft and wizardry. My name is Professor Toothiana, and I am your Transfiguration teacher. Past these doors lays the Great Hall, as well as all your fellow students and Professors. Now, if all of you could line up in alphabetical order...'' She began fluttering around the students calling out names and lining them up in front of the doors.

"Why do you think she's lining us up in alphabetical order?" Rapunzel asked.

"I dunno." Merida said. "Mum told me there's some sort of testing so they can sort you out between the houses."

"Testing?" I asked. Great, just another thing I could fail on today. I groaned.

"My Mum said it should be easy, then again, she was a top student..."

"Corona? Rapunzel Corona?" Prof. Toothiana's voice rang out.

Rapunzel looked nervous, she was fiddling with her braid as she reluctantly stepped into line.

"You'll do fine, Rapunzel." I assured her.

She gave a small smile, before turning to face the front.

A few moments passed as Merida and I stood there.

"You don't think she's calling full names, do you?'' I asked Merida quietly.

"Why?'' She asked.

"No reason. Just not exactly fond of my full name.''

Merida's eyes glinted with malevolent joy.

''Whats so secret about your name that you want no one hearing it?'' She asked.

''I'm not-''

"DunBroch? Merida DunBroch?" Prof. Toothiana called.

I breathed a sigh of relief. As long as they didn't call out full names...

I stood quietly for three minutes, waiting for Prof. Toothiana to call my name. Finally, she called out ''Haddock? Hiccup Haddock?''.

I stepped into line behind a tall girl, her height blocking my view of Rapunzel and Merida in front of me.

I took a deep breath before Prof. Toothiana finished her list. Then, she made her way to the front of the line and stood in front of the double doors. She gave a brief speech explaining the houses.

''Each house has certain attributes which define them from the rest. Gryffindors are known to be brave and daring, Hufflepuffs are loyal and honest. Wise Ravenclaws are very intelligent and Slytherin is home to the sly and cunning. The house you will be sorted into will be your home for the rest of your years at Hogwarts. The people within your house will be your family, and your classmates.'' She clasped her hands together and with a final, cheerful flutter she opened the doors. " Without further ado, I show you the Great Hall."

My jaw dropped open when I entered the great hall. Candles floated through the air, giving the room a magical and beautiful appearance. I looked behind me to see Hiccup staring in awe up at the ceiling.

"Of course..." I muttered, not surprised by the wee lambs reaction. I thought back to that feeling on the train, as though there was something about him that just... I shook off the thought and continued taking in the scene around me.

I could hear the applause of the students surrounding us, welcoming us to their school. I felt a pride swelling in my chest. I had been chosen for this school, been on the list since birth and now I was going to be sorted, and finally become a true member of Hogwarts.

One of the Prof.'s had brought out a brown hat, dusty from misuse. They placed it on a stool and walked back to their place at the head table.

''So this is how they're gonna sort us?'' I thought. "A dusty hat?''

I turned my attention back to Prof. Toothiana, who fluttered just above everyone's heads so the people in the back could hear her.

"We will now begin the sorting." She called out. Quickly, the room collapsed into excited whispers from the students. Prof. Toothiana began calling out names, going in alphabetical order. Every time one of the students approached the wooden stool set out on the the floor, she would place the hat atop their heads, and the hat would call out the house they belonged in. The hat spoke!

After some time, the hat called out Rapunzel's name.

"Rapunzel Gothel Corona'' It called in a gruff voice, as though it hadn't spoken for centuries. Rapunzel stepped forward, one foot after another and sat on the small wooden stool.

"Why, hello there." A gruff voice spoke in my mind. I nearly leapt from my seat, surprised that the magical hat could speak.

"Hmmm...interesting. There's definitely strong loyalty, great quality for Hufflepuff."

"You can talk?" I whispered.

The hat let out a gentle chuckle."Yes, yes...oh, great intelligence, I see...Tell me, which house would you like to be in?"

I took a deep breath. "Whichever one I deserve to be in." I said, confident in my answer.

"Hmmm...better be RAVENCLAW!"

The hat called out.

I stood from my seat and walked over to the blue and silver table, my heart thumping. I was a Ravenclaw, house of the wise and intelligent. Mother would be proud.

"Merida DunBroch!"

I stepped forward, making sure my footsteps were firm and my knees did not shake. I would appear brave in front of my fellow students.

I sat down confidently on the wooden stool, my eyes staring straight ahead, waiting for the old hat to be placed upon my head and call out my future house.

"Hmmm...I see. Very brave and courageous." The hat spoke in my mind. I was shocked. Not only was this hat magical, but it could also speak in my mind! " I don't think it's much of a surprise that you belong in GRYFFINDOR!"

I grinned ear to ear as the Gryffindor table applauded and hooted for me. I stood from the stool and went to sit at my house table, smiling at all the fellow Gryffindors surrounding me.

"Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III!" The hat called out. If not for nerves, I would have groaned.

I could hear the snickers and laughs coming from the students around me. Most were directed at my name, other first years remembered me from the boat incident.

I sat down on the stool and the hat fell over my eyes. I was surrounded in darkness when a gruff voice broke through the silence.

"Oh my, a Viking." It said. " You are the very first these old walls have ever seen."

"I am?" I whispered.

"Oh, yes. I see a very bright future ahead, though it is riddled in darkness...hmmm..."

"And that's...good?'' I asked.

"We'll see..." The hat paused, then resumed talking. "I see bravery, the willingness to change things...interesting, though there is the loyalty and honesty of Hufflepuff...what to do, what to do..."

I sat there in waiting, anxiously hoping to be placed anywhere but Slytherin. They had a reputation for bullies...

"Oh, what's this, a great mind. Yes, yes very great, I know what to do. You belong in RAVENCLAW!"

I sighed in relief and stood from the stool, the sorting hat had taken much too long for my taste.

I sat down on a bench, surrounded by many other Ravenclaw's. Many looked my way as I sat down beside Rapunzel, who was beaming proudly at me. Others were not so supportive, leaning in closer to their friends and snickering behind hands. I caught a few mocking glimpses of words "Horrendous" and "klutz" among them. I sighed.

This was going to be quite the year.

_**Author's Note**_

**Hope you guys enjoyed the extra long chapter! More than 2000 words long! Whew! I enjoy writing long chapters though, lucky for you guys ;). Hopefully the change of POV wasn't too confusing for everyone.. Anyways, see you next chapter!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note**

**Hello there! Here is the much awaited chapter where I introduce Jack and his POV. Enjoy!**

I stood among the Guardians, leaning comfortably on my staff. North leaned over an aged piece of parchment, studying the ancient writing covering the old scroll. I didn't bother listening to what North was muttering, sure I wouldn't understand anyways.

I glimpsed over at Bunny, who sat grouchily on a wooden chair, tapping his foot to a silent rhythm. He had apparently been in the middle of preparations, and wasn't all too happy about the disruption.

"We have big thing to discuss." North suddenly boomed. I stood up straight and swung my staff by my side nonchalantly, striding over to where North stood.

"Well, we better make this quick." Bunny muttered. "I have-"

"It is about prophecy. Prophecy Man in Moon gave, years ago."North explained.

Bunny instantly stopped moping and stood up straighter. "What are you saying North?" He said.

"I fear that prophecy will be true this year." North sighed.

I looked up at North. "What prophecy?" I asked, confused.

Tooth stood as well and fluttered over beside me.

"A long time ago," She explained, "Manny gave us a scroll, and it held a prophecy. It told us about a student, here at the school."

"Manny told us student is very powerful. He said that student had power of animagus, something very rare. Scroll explains dark magic radiates form person, and he threatens us as Guardian." North sighed. "We have no idea who student is, only that he threatens the children, and whoever threatens children, threatens Guardians."

"The scroll told us about this, but didn't tell us who it was." Bunny spoke up. "Do you still have that old thing, Sandy?" He asked the little man.

Sandy nodded slowly.

"Cool." I said. "I wanna see this scroll."

"It's written in an ancient language, Jack." Tooth explained. "North is the only one that understands it."

I looked over to North, raising my eyebrows. North crossed his arms and shrugged.

"I know many languages." He said. "Including old Norse. I have been around for long time, Frost."

I grinned. "Great." I leapt up and crouched on the top of Bunny's chair, trailing frost all along the back of it. "Let's get started."

Sandy walked in from the back room of North's office, carrying a very dusty, very old-looking scroll. It was covered in lines and dashes written in loopy handwriting that just didn't seem to fit the runes.

"Here we go Sandy. Place it on table. I read it to best of ability." Seeing my questioning glance, North further explained. "Has been long time since I have visited Vikings, they are only ones that use Norse. Not many believers up north."

I frowned. "No believers?" I asked. "Don't you come from the north? How could they not believe in you?"

"They believe many things. They believe Gods and spirits, but Santa Claus no." Now it was North's turn to frown. "It is crazy! No, Christmas! Only 'Snoggletog'. " North threw his thick arms up in incredulity. "And I am Russian, nothing like Vikings." He pointed at me.

"Snoggletog?" I asked, not believing my ears. "Man, I've got to visit the north more often." I grinned, imagining what other odd celebrations the Vikings had.

"It doesn't matter, mate. Right now we've bigger problems to face." Bunny interrupted.

"Right!" North declared. "Let me see scroll!" He rolled up his sleeves as though preparing for a fight. "Hmmmm...this is harder than I remember." North scratched his balding head and continued staring at the paper.

"Are you saying you don't remember how to read this thing, because if you are-"

"Relax bunny. We will figure out scroll! Now if I could remember what this word is..." North said.

"How?" I asked. "It's not like there are any Norse speaking spirits around here. Are there?"

"No." Tooth sighed.

Sandy had several images appear above his head, though they flashed by, forming incoherent bursts of golden sand.

"What?" Bunny and I asked at the same time. I turned to him and glared, as he shot a look back at me.

"Hmm...Yes I see. But Sandy, how will someone be undercover? We are teachers, not students..." Norths eyes suddenly lit up like a Christmas tree and he turned to face me. "I have idea!" North pointed excitedly to me. "You will become student at school, and you will be inside man! Haha! Brilliant, Sandy!"

I leapt off of Bunny's chair, carrying my staff loosely by my side. I pointed to my chest.

"Me? Be a student at a magic school you all teach?" I asked. No way was I spending a year in some stuck up, preppy magic school.

"Yes. It will be great advantage over powerful person, and you will help!" North boomed.

"Please, Jack?" Tooth begged. "It could really help us with this prophecy, and wouldn't it be fun to learn magic?" Tooth fluttered around, buzzing excitedly. "You could even join the Quidditch team! You wouldn't have to worry about marks, we are the teachers after all, and then-"

"Woah, woah, woah." I cut in. "What makes you think I want to go to school?"

"For once, I'm with snowflake over here." Bunny said. "I don't need him disrupting any of my classes. Got enough troublemakers to begin with." He grumbled.

"Please, Jack?'' Tooth pleaded.

I scowled, knowing that they had won. "Fine. But I am not wearing a pointy hat."


	6. Chapter 6

**Hello everyone! Thank you to everyone who reviewed, newcomers and constants alike! For this chapter, you may notice that I skipped a few years from the beginning of this story. That is because...well, there really is no reason, I just felt that the plot of this story would work better if the big four were a bit more mature. I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it!**

I sat in the great hall, alone at the Gryffindor table. 6th year had just begun and we sat, waiting for Prof. North to give the welcoming speech. I tapped my foot idly, staring at Hiccup, yet again scribbling something down in that journal of his at Ravenclaw table. Being the only one of us three being in Gryffindor could sometimes be lonely, something I hated being. I directed my attention back up to the head table.

"Welcome back to Hogwarts!" Prof. North bellowed across the hall. The students cheered and hollered, happy to be back in school.

"Before we eat, I have very important thing to tell you." Prof. North waited for the noise to die down, crossing his thick arms over his large belly.

I leaned forward in my seat. What could be so big that Prof. North needed to tell us during the opening feast?

"This year, we have new student at school." He said. He gestured to a tall, skinny boy with handsome features and snowy white hair. "His name is Jackson Overland, and he will be 5th year. He is from North lands, and will study at Hogwarts school instead of Durmstrang. Now, we sort him!" North finished with a dramatic flair.

Prof. Toothiana brought out the old sorting hat and a chair, not the usual stool we used for smaller first years. The new boy, Jackson Overland, didn't appear nervous, in fact he looked a little bored.

Prof. Toothiana gestured for him to sit, and Jackson plodded over and sat down lightly in the chair. She placed the tattered old hat over his eyes and we waited. Within only a few seconds, the hat cried out "Gyffindor!" I applauded along with my housemates, cheering just as loudly as the others.

Hopefully Jackson would be a good flyer. Gryffindor hasn't won a single Quidditch game against Ravenclaw ever since Hiccup became their new seeker.

"Great!" North boomed. "Now we begin feast!"

The Jackson boy walked over hesitantly, as though not sure where to sit. The table was quite overcrowded with rowdy Gryffindors as they dug into the food. Jackson spotted me, or more like the empty space around me and came to sit. He plopped down heavily, not seeming very happy about where he was.

Rapunzel came over to the table, dragging a protesting Hiccup behind her. I smiled at the sight. Though nobody at Gryffiindor minded Rapunzel coming to sit with us, not many were fond of Hiccup. He tended to be very good at everything, and to some of the others, this was enough to cause jealously. Not to mention his whole village was filled with muggles, including his parents. This provoked the trademark Slytherin prejudice against muggle-borns, and wizards who were friends with them.

The new boy, Jackson, arrived at the table. Seeing as there wasn't much room left anywhere else, he went to go sit beside Hiccup, who payed no heed to Hogwarts newest member as he finished scribbling something down in his old, leather notebook.

Others further down the table whispered to their friends, probably talking about the new student. I found myself rolling my eyes at their antics.

"Hello there," I said to Jackson. "My name is Merida DunBroch."

"Hey." He said back, a slight grin lighting up his face. "Just call me Jack."

I nodded and nudged Punzie, who had gone silent, staring at Jack.

"Oh, yes. My name's Rapunzel Corona." She said kindly, reaching a hand out to shake.

"I call her Punzie, though she doesn't like it much." I smiled at her.

"Probably because that's not her name." Hiccup mumbled.

I flicked his left hand and he dropped the crude pencil he was using.

"Ow, Merida!" He said.

Jack looked between us three, looking amused.

"So, who are you?" He asked Hiccup.

"Hiccup. Just Hiccup." He mumbled, snapping his book closed.

"You wanna know his full name?" I asked Jack.

"Merida, that's not really necessary-" Hiccup said.

I smiled. "Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III"

Hiccup groaned. "Thanks, Mer."

Jack couldn't contain his laughter. I grinned, proud of my ability to turn Hiccup completely red.

"Jack, that's not nice." Punzie said, though I could see a slight smile playing on her lips as well.

"You guys are such wonderful friends." Hiccup deadpanned.

"We try, Hiccup." I said. "So, you any good at Quidditch, Jack?" I asked him.

"Not this again." Punzie muttered.

"What?" Jack asked. He looked very confused.

"Quidditch. You know, flying on brooms, scoring points, dodging bludgers?" I said.

Jack shook his head. "I don't know what that is, but it sounds like fun. In my uh, old village, magic was taught by the parents of the Witch or Wizard. We didn't have any flying. Why'd you ask me, anyways?" He asked.

"Merida's still looking for a good seeker for Gryffindor team." Punzie said.

I scoffed. "Ever since the wee lamb over here became Seeker, we haven't won a single game against Ravenclaw." I threw my hands up in despair. "It's completely mad!"

"Wait a second, Horrendous III over here is Seeker?" Jack asked, pointing a thumb at Hiccup.

"Yes." Hiccup said. "And don't call me that." He told Jack.

"Sorry, Wee lamb." Jack said, mocking my accent.

"Lighten up, Chief." I said, sarcastically.

"Chief?" Jack asked.

"His father is the chief of his village. Hiccup's next in line for the throne." Punzie said.

"It's not a throne, Rapunzel." Hiccup said. "Though you do know who's next in line for the throne..."

"Shut up, fishbone, or I swear I'll bloody murder you." I threatened.

"Who?" Jack asked.

"Don't you dare tell him..."

"Merida." Hiccup sounded very smug. "She's gonna be the future queen of-"

I picked up an apple from the table and threw it at the smug 16 year old. The apple flew at his head and Hiccup barely had enough time to duck.

In the back, I could hear the Prefects calling for First Years to follow them up into dorms. The feast was over.

"Come on, laddies. Time for bed." I said, standing up and stretching my back.

Hiccup sighed and stood, as did Punzie and Jack. Jack looked slightly uncomfortable.

"Hey, do you guys know where the dorms are? I don't actually know where anything is..."

"Sure do. Just follow me." I said. We left the Great Hall, all four of us together as we made our way up to Gryffindor tower.

We reached the painting of the Fat Lady only a few minutes later. I stood in front of the painting before realising something.

"Uh..." I said.

"What's the problem?" Punzie asked.

"I don't know the new password." I admitted.

From behind me Hiccup sighed.

"Fortis." He said.

The Fat Lady smiled and the door swung open. I turned around to face the young Ravenclaw.

"How did you know that? You're not even Gryffindor!" I demanded.

Hiccup shrugged and gestured at the open door.

"Well, are you going in or not?" He said.

Jack stepped forward after shooting a quizzical look at Hiccup. He strode in and sat on a plush red sofa.

"This place is very...comfy." He said.

"Sure." Hiccup muttered. "Well, I've gotta go now, I'll see you guys in Transfiguration tomorrow."

"Why do you have to go so soon?" I asked him. "We still have an hour until curfew."

"I have a meeting, with Prof. North. I'll see you guys in the morning." And with that, he left.

We sat in silence for a few moments, lost in our own thoughts.

"Is it just me or does Hiccup seem...different to you?" I asked.

"In what way?" Rapunzel asked.

"I don't know. He just...holds himself a bit differently." I said.

"I wouldn't know." Jack said.

"Thanks, Overland." I rolled my eyes. "I wouldn't have guessed."

There was a bit of an uncomfortable silence before Rapunzel stood from the red chair she was siting in.

"Well, I should probably go too. Got to unpack." She mumbled and left the room.

And then there were two.

"Is Hiccup really as good a Quidditch player as you say?" Jack asked.

I scoffed. "Better. He doesn't really like to flaunt it though. It's almost frustrating, he's always so humble." I sat down heavily in a chair. " He's got more talent than all the 7th years put together."

"Would you say he's powerful?" Jack asked, slightly hesitant.

I was taken aback from the question. Could Hiccup, a scrawny boy from the north be powerful? He excelled at everything he did, could accomplish everything with ease and had a brilliant mind. Was that considered powerful?

"I dunno..." I mumbled. "Why are you so interested in Hiccup?'' I asked.

"No reason." Jack shrugged.

There was a brief silence.

"Well, I'm going to bed too. I'll see you in the morning." I said.

"Okay. See you in the morning." Jack replied.

I climbed the staircase and walked into my normal dorm. Jack's questions still whirring through my mind.


	7. Chapter 7

**Thank you all so much for the reviews! 20! Guess that means I'm going to be updating a lot more lately. I'm sorry if this chapter seems really short, but don't worry! This is the patronus chapter which will be important later on in the story...**

We sat at our regular table in Defense Against the Dark Arts. Hiccup and I were already seated at the front, saving the other two seats for our friends from Gryffindor. I sighed and placed my head on my hand, my elbow propped up on the table. Hiccup heard my sigh and looked up from his furious scribbling in his journal.

"What is it Rapunzel?" He said. He tucked his pencil and journal into his robes and sat up straighter.

"Why do they always take so long to get here?" I asked.

"They're Jack and Merida." He said by way of explanation.

"Alright class," Prof. Bunny called out. "Everybody settle down."

Suddenly, the rooms doors burst open and Jack and Merida rushed in, causing a commotion.

"What took you guys so long?" I asked them.

"It was that ghost on the second floor." Merida muttered. "Stupid poltergeist."

Hiccup frowned. "You mean Gall? He's not so bad..."

"That's cause the ghosts actually like you." Jack said.

"Alright. Time to begin." Prof. Bunnymund called out. "Today we're gonna be learning a spell on how to defend against a dementor." He began pacing, swinging a wooden, carved boomerang between his paws. "It's called a patronus. It's pretty tricky stuff. Gotta think about the happiest memory you can, say Expecto Patronum. Your patronus takes the shape of an animal based upon your personal traits, like a spirit animal of sorts."

A boy in the front row raised their hand and Prof. Bunnymund stopped pacing.

"Yeah, kid?"

"What's your patronus?" He asked.

Prof. Bunnymund allowed himself a small smile. "What do you think it is?" He asked him. Then, with a flick of his wrist, the boomerang he was holding was placed back into it's leather pouch on his shoulder. He clapped his two large paws together, startling a few of the dozers in the very back of the class. "Alright, troublemakers. Line up over here and let's begin."

I stood in line behind Merida, who could barely stand still in anticipation.

"What do you think my patronus is gonna be?" She asked me.

"Probably a beaver." I told her. She turned around and slapped me on the arm. I grinned down on her. Over the summer, I've grown a lot taller. I now towered over all my friends, with only Jack rivaling my height. It felt odd, after spending years being surrounded by people twice my size.

"Alright, DunBroch. You're up." Prof. Bunnymund called. Merida stepped forward and held her wand at the ready.

"Expecto Patronum." She said. A thin wispy trail of shocking blue magic began twisting it's way through the air before it took on the shape of...a bear?

"A bear?" Merida said. "You've got to be kidding me." She muttered. The bear lumbered through the air, occasionally turning around and lowering it's face, as if to sniff something on the ground. I could hear Jack behind me, trying to muffle a laugh. It gave a silent roar before disappearing into the air. Merida gave a proud smile and stepped off to the side.

"Good job, DunBroch." Prof. Bunnymund praised her. "Alright, Haddock. Give it a try."

I stepped forward and tried to conjure up the happiest moment I have felt. The first time flying with Toothless, soaring through the sea stacks. I took a deep breath.

"Expecto Patronum!" I said. I waved my wand and the white-blue smoke began drifting from my wand. Slowly, it began taking form. It began twisting and turning through the air, taking shape of a-

"Dragon." I muttered. "Of course it's a dragon." I didn't recognize this type of dragon, it certainly wasn't a native species to Berk. It had a long tail and huge wings, with small crests framing it's head. This dragon was made for flying, much like a more elegant version of Toothless.

From behind me, Jack laughed. "Well, this is ironic." He said.

"Blimey. Didn't know that was possible." Prof. Bunnymund said.

The dragon leapt into the air and spread it's huge wings, soaring across the classroom before landing beside Merida, rubbing it's head against her. Merida swatted at it and it disappeared into wisps of silvery smoke.

"What do you mean?" I asked him.

"Patronuses normally don't take on the shape of magical creatures. It's almost always mundane animals." Prof. Bunnymund said thoughtfully. "Alright Corona, try it out." He said to Rapunzel.

I walked over to the side of the classroom, standing with crossed arms beside Merida. Rapunzel walked over to the spot where I had been standing and recited the spell. A form flew directly from her wand, taking the shape of a lovely dove. It swooped throughout the air gracefully, before landing on Rapunzel's wand like it was a perch.

"It's beautiful." Rapunzel said, stroking the dove once before it disappeared in a wisp of smoke.

"Good job, Corona." Prof. Bunnymund said. Then, he turned to see who was next in line. "Great. You're up snowflake." He said to Jack.

"Snowflake?" Merida said to herself.

Jack stepped forward and uttered "Expecto Patronum" A snowy white wisp of smoke emerged from his wand, taking the shape of a dog. It resembled a Husky, one of the tough and energetic dogs used for sledding in the northern lands.

Jack laughed. The dog continued leaping everywhere, bounding from place to place and snuffling Rapunzels hair. She giggled and Jack smiled, running a hand through the patronus, which disappeared as soon as he touched it.

"Good job, class." Professor Bunnymund called. "You can all head on down to Herbology now."


	8. Chapter 8

**Double update today, just because it's you all for the reviews and comments! I hope you understand how much all these reviews mean to me. They're like my fuel to keep going, my motivation to keep writing because I know that there are people out there who actually read this. So for this chapter, there is a little time skip, as we miss late September and all of October to get to November. Enjoy!**

**_November_**

I awoke to the sun, shining in my face. I shuffled out of bed and grabbed my staff, disguised as a wand courtesy of Tooth. I stepped out of my room and into the hallway. Then I descended the stairs, taking them two at a time.

I found Merida sitting with Hiccup in the common room, talking over some papers. I was planning on just going straight to class, but Hiccup beckoned me over. Looking over my shoulder, not expecting anyone to be standing behind me, I walked over and sat across from Merida.

"What are you guys doing?" I asked them.

"Nothing really." Hiccup replied. "Merida was just asking me to translate this old scroll she found in her castle."

"You have a castle?" I asked her, awed.

"Yeah." Hiccup said for her. "It's this giant stone castle in the middle of these rolling hills. Soon it'll be Merida's when she becomes the queen of-"

Merida had reached over and placed a hand on Hiccups mouth, silencing him. She grabbed him and pulled him into a headlock, while he glared at her. Suddenly, Rapunzel walked through the doorway to find the three of us, sitting on a couch with Hiccup in a headlock.

"Did Hiccup mock Merida again?" She asked, as though this were perfectly normal.

"Nmph." Came the muffled reply from Hiccup.

"Did he call her the Your Highness, or the Queen of Scotland?"

"Nmph." Hiccup repeated.

Merida finally released him and Hiccup shook his head, wiping his mouth on his sleeve.

"You didn't have to attack me you know." He said, miffed. "Seriously."

I laughed at their antics.

"We better hurry or we're going to be late." Rapunzel said.

I stood beside Rapunzel while Hiccup continued arguing with Merida.

"So, what do we have first?" I asked her.

"Gryffindor and Ravenclaw have Transfiguration with Prof. Toothiana. Then, after lunch we have flying lessons and then potions in the afternoon."

We stood there for a few more minutes, waiting for Hiccup and Merida to stop bickering. Once the fighting finally stopped, we walked together to Transfiguration, only a few minutes early.

When we walked into the classroom, all I could think of was how bright it was in here. As usual, the huge windows were open, allowing streams of light inside, and several torches lit the stone walls, giving them a majestic feel to the room. I spotted Tooth who was flitting in circles around her desk, waving her wand at random things and moving them to different places, as though searching for something.

"Hello Professor Toothiana." Rapunzel said cheerfully.

"Oh, hello there. Come sit down." She paused and looked over her shoulder. "Uh, Hiccup, could I talk to you for a moment."

I frowned. Why would Tooth need to talk to Hiccup? Was something wrong?

Hiccup gave a small frown. "Sure." He walked over to her office, a golden room filled with shining boxes.

I watched them carefully as they walked over, into her office. As soon as the door closed, Merida turned to me.

"What are they talking about?" She asked.

"I don't know..." I said. Again, I became suspicious of Hiccup. While at Hogwarts, I was supposed to be scoping out possible suspects of the prophecy, as per North's orders. Over the past month, I've only found a few suspects and none of them were certain. One of them being Hiccup. The only thing that held me back from reporting him was he was too darn nice to be malevolent. Hiccup was my friend, and I didn't want to be suspicious of him, but I couldn't help it. North had set it in my head that someone here was the subject of the old Norse scroll Manny had given the Guardians, and for some reason my gut kept telling me it was Hiccup.

"What if something's wrong?" Rapunzel asked.

"I'm sure they'll be fine, Punzie." Merida assured her. "Hiccup's probably giving her tips on how to properly cast a bewitching spell." Merida muttered, sorting out her things onto her desk.

Students began streaming in, red, gold, silver and blue colours filling the room. Eventually, all the seats were filled, all but two. One beside Merida, and the other behind Tooth's desk.

Suddenly, the door to Tooth's office opened and Hiccup walked out, looking slightly less enthusiastic than when he entered. People in the seats behind us whispered.

Hiccup slid into his seat beside Merida and she whispered to him as Tooth sat down behind her desk. I could hear Hiccup mumble an "I'll tell you later" before Tooth began explaining today's lesson.

We were going to be transforming a book into a quill. Tooth demonstrated hers on a large dictionary, turning it into a turquoise quill that matched her robes. She gave us the incantation and told us to try it out on our own.

I tried waving my wand and muttering the spell. I made sure to pronounce the odd words properly, but all I ever achieved was a small picture book sprouting some white feathers.

I looked over to Rapunzel and Merida, who seemed to be having just as much success as I was. At least Rapunzel was making progress. Her book had become much slimmer, and had several feathers sticking out of the pages. I looked past Merida to see Hiccup, who was sitting in his seat, writing something down with a plain brown stick of charcoal, a crude pencil of sorts. I looked down to his desk in front of him and saw a brilliant peacock feather that shone a thousand different colours in the sunshine. That wasn't the only thing it was doing, it was writing something down all on it's own.

My jaw dropped as the quill continued writing odd characters down on a page, once in a while stopping, and turning towards Hiccup, as if asking him permission to write something. Hiccup, the odd time would only nod and mutter something to the quill, as if telling it what to write.

I nudged Rapunzel and pointed to Hiccup's quill.

"Do you see that! It's Hiccup's book-quill. It's moving on it's own!" I whispered.

Rapunzel looked up from her feathery book to glance at Hiccup. She sighed.

"He does this every time." She frowned down at her book as though asking it why it couldn't write for her.

"Does what?" I asked.

"Finishes early and then enchants things to write his homework for him. That's why he has so much free time." She cast another disapproving glance at her book and then turned to face me. "He's always creating new things to do for fun. Once, in charms he finished early and designed a whole new pulley system for the midnight bell in the tower. It's like his mind just doesn't stop working."

"That's amazing." I said.

**_A few minutes later_**

"Alright class, turn in your finished projects please." Tooth said. I sighed. The best I had done to my book was turn it into a frost covered novel with scattered feathers laying haphazardly inside. I noticed Hiccup, handing his in and saw it momentarily change colour's. I thought back to what Rapunzel said earlier, how he was always doing something, as though his mind was always working. I wondered how good a wizard you would have to be to do something like that. I wondered how powerful a wizard you would have to be to do that.

"What do we have next?" I asked Rapunzel.

"Flying lessons." She said. She didn't sound very happy about it.

"Hey, cheer up." I told her. "It's gonna be fun."

"Okay class, today we are going to be playing a game of mock up quidditch."

Half of the class groaned while a quiet 'yes' could be heard from Merida.

"Everybody mount your brooms!" Prof. Volanti called. The professor blew his whistle and everybody mounted their brooms.

I kicked off hard. I suddenly, shot into the air and looked down below me. I was a good 20 feet or so in the air. It reminded me of spreading snow days, and over the past few months, I had found that flying came easier than I had thought.

I looked down and saw Hiccup staring up at me, a hand shielding the sun from his eyes. He gave a big grin and a thumbs up. I grinned back at him.

"Haddock!" The Prof. Volanti called. "Come over here for a second."

I saw Hiccup give a short nod and then walk over to the professor, who's normally hard face, softened slightly. I couldn't make out what they were saying, but I knew that Hiccup obviously hated it. The professor reached out a hand and patted Hiccup on the back awkwardly.

Hiccup walked over to the stands, picked something up and walked off the pitch hurriedly. Whatever the teacher had told him, he obviously hadn't liked. I watched as Merida flew after him. She landed and they talked for a moment, before Merida returned to the pitch.

I frowned and watched as Hiccup kept walking, far past the school grounds, into the forbidden forest.


	9. Chapter 9

**Thank you for all the positive reviews about the past few chapters! You can't understand how much they mean to a writer until you become one. I have a question for all you readers. **

**If I were to include the Triwizard Tournament further on in my story, what are some possible tasks the Champions could participate in?**

**I've been entertaining this idea for a while, but for it to happen, I'm going to need tasks for people to participate in. Please leave your ideas in reviews, or PM me. Either one works. **

**Without further ado, I leave you Chapter 9. **

I looked around me, searching for a familiar lanky figure in blue and silver robes. I found none circling around in the air, instead I looked down and saw him walking off the quidditch pitch, away from the game. I swooped down on broom and pulled up beside him, curious as to why he was leaving again.

"Oi!" I called. "Where are you going, Chief?" I landed expertly and began walking beside him. Hiccup stopped walking and turned to face me.

"I have...another meeting with Prof. North." He shifted on his feet, as though anxious to get somewhere.

I frowned. "What's going on?" I asked him, worried. "Why are all the teachers so interested in you this year?"

Hiccup didn't meet my eyes. "It's just something that happened over the summer. It's fine, really."

I felt like something was going on that he wasn't telling me. I opened my mouth to speak again when a sharp whistle rang out through the air.

"DunBroch, get back over here! We're starting now!" The prof. called.

"I promise, I'll tell you later, just not...not right now." Hiccup gave a weak grin. "Better get going, Your Majesty."

I stuck a tongue out at him, then mounted my broom.

"You better tell me what's going on, Haddock. I expect an explanation later."

Hiccup only nodded.

I flew, up into the sky and felt the winds tearing through my robes. I felt a sense of freedom. This was why I enjoyed flying. I cast a final look down at Hiccup before turning to return to the Quiddtich match.

I just couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right.

I entered the dark forest and made my way to the small cove I had been hiding Toothless in. I wasn't afraid of these woods, I could protect myself from whatever evil lay in here, it was Toothless I was worried about. With only his scales, claws and fire to protect him, I was worried some larger creature may manage to sneak up on him, and attack.

I had just left flying lessons, using my leg as an excuse to skip class. I had been doing this often, only so I could visit Toothless. The events of this summer had shaken both of us. It had all happened so quickly, and with school coming so fast, I had had no choice but to bring him along, or face the risk of a Viking attacking him during one of the raids. Besides, Toothless couldn't fly without me, and it felt wrong to take away that freedom away from him.

The only problem was getting him here. I had to board the train just like everyone else, meaning I had be at the station by Sept. 1. I had to fly Toothless all the way here two days earlier, then fly by broomstick all the way back. It had been tedious and worrisome, but it was still better than leaving him alone with no flight in the forest back home.

At the moment, I was creating blueprints for a new tail fin, one that wouldn't require a rider to operate. The ideas were all there, it was being able to translate it onto paper, and into a machine that worked which was hard.

I reached the opening of the cove. As usual, it was dark and only a few rays of sunshine managed to break past the thick barrier of trees. I whistled for Toothless. Nothing happened. I stepped closer to the small opening of the cove searching for those familiar green eyes. Suddenly, something leapt on me from behind. I was pinned on my front to the ground, as an over sized reptile began licking my head excitedly.

"Ugh, Toothless!" I said. "Get off me!" I said, face buried in the soft dirt.

He jumped off of me, then gently grasping part of my robes with his teeth, he pulled me off the ground.

"Thanks, bud." I scratched his head, right between his two ear plates. "Come on. Let's go flying."

Suddenly, the calm, placid reptile disappeared, and an excited hyper one emerged. I smiled as I untied my over sized cloak from around my shoulders and let it tumble to the ground. I hiked up my left pant leg to reveal a shiny metal prosthetic, designed by myself. I swung a leg over the saddle and clicked my prosthetic into place.

With one encouraging pat, we took off, into the skies.

**_A few moments later_**

"Come on bud, let's try it." I said.

Toothless shook his head, clearly worried.

"It's fine. Besides, I trust you'll catch me if I fall." I grinned.

Toothless snorted.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked him. Toothless warbled.

"Let's just try it. Come on Toothless." I pleaded. With a quick nod of his head, I unfastened my tether, took my feet out of the stirrups. and jumped off his back.

We both flew down, towards the ground. I could feel the wind tearing at my clothes, and was reminded of all the steep dives I had ever taken as a seeker. Still, nothing could compare to this.

With the ground still not in sight, Toothless began spinning around in circles. I laughed and mimicked him. We continued spiraling downwards, with smiles on our faces. That is until a large burst of wind set me off track, further away from Toothless than intended. Toothless tried to open his wings to fly closer to me, because without me on his back, we were both doomed.

"No, no Toothless! Don't open your-"

Toothless's wings were wrenched open with the wind and he flew up above me, unable to stop himself. However, as he flew upwards, his wing clipped my left shoulder and I was sent tumbling even further away. I began to panic and stretched my arms out, trying to slow my fall. I was falling and no one was there to catch me.

My wand was back in the cove, tucked away in my cloak along witht the rest of my things. If I needed to, wandless magic was an option, though with my scattered thoughts I could barely remember a simple summoning charm. The ground came into view, only slightly blurry from the clouds, and it was approaching fast. I could hear Toothless screech above me and I looked up, seeing him struggle to right himself and come close enough to me.

I panicked, and everything blacked out for a second. I opened my eyes and saw that I was still falling, though I felt much different. I lifted my arms out in front of me to try and grasp onto Toothless, who was just out of reach. Instead, my whole body was ripped upwards by the wind, slowing my descent.

I looked to my left and saw a large black wing, extended outwards. I screamed in surprise, only to find that I wasn't screaming, I was roaring. I looked around me. I was covered in scales, I possessed a tail and two large ebony wings stretched out in front of me, slowing my fall.

With a jolt I realized something had happened. I had turned into a dragon.

With a final glance upwards at Toothless, who appeared just as confused as I was, I struck a large tree, and broke right through it. I ran into several other branches, tearing them down as I went. I finally hit the ground, and with one final crash, I blacked out.

I awoke feeling slightly battered and disoriented. I tried to stand, but found my legs not working as I wanted them to. I tried calling Toothless's name, but instead a loud growl emitted from my throat. Startled, I leapt to my feet and found I was still in this...form.

I was confused, scared and worried. What had happened in the sky? How am I a...dragon? Where is Toothless?

I experimented with this new body. I had no idea what I looked like, only that my scales were black, even darker than Toothless's. While his had a slight blue sheen to it, mine seemed to suck all colour out of the air, absorbing nothing but darkness. I stretched my wings, in awe of how large they were. They had to be at least twice the size of my body, if not larger. They were long and elegant, with tapering tips meant to slice through the air. I twisted around, looking at my tail. It was long and had two thin tail fin's lining the ends of it. They were angular and webbed, much like Toothless's, only darker, and skinnier. I tried swinging it around and was fascinated by how naturally it came to me.

I heard some distant rustling, it was coming from the bush's ahead. Naturally, I raised my wings up, trying to appear larger than I already was. A flat head poked it's way through the brush and I gently lowered my wings. It was Toothless. He was so much smaller than I remember him being, his body barely the size of my wing. I crooned, wondering whether he recognized me or not.

Toothless stepped forward, hesitantly coming out of the brush. He sniffed my wings and looked very confused. I was guessing he recognized my scent, but not this new appearance. Then, he locked eyes with me. I froze, wondering if my own dragon was going to attack me. When he didn't do anything, I warbled to him and he made that goofy draconic smile.

He leapt around me excitedly, testing everything out. He placed his head under my wing, wearing it like it were some sort of blanket. I took it back and he went to examine my tail, lifting it up with his head, testing the weight of it. He finally leapt in front of me and looked pointedly at a tree, making odd gestures with his head. Seeing as I was confused as to what he wanted me to do, he shot a small fireball at a tree, causing a small explosion of wood and smoke.

I stared at the tree and realized he wanted me to try and breath fire. I took a deep breath. How was I supposed to do this? I breathed in and opened my mouth, expecting nothing to happen. To my surprise, a large ball of black fire, much like Toothless's except for the colour, leapt forward striking the huge oak tree. With a resounding crack, the tree broke in half, causing a several tonne tree trunk to come crashing down. I jumped back, not used to the feeling of causing such large amounts of destruction with only a single breath.

I looked up at the sky, and saw dusk approaching. I began to panic. How was I supposed to return to school if I couldn't transform back into a human? Toothless warbled and I looked over to him. He sat there, looking curiously at me.

I shut my eyes, imagining me leaving this body, transforming back into the scrawny human everyone knew. I felt a slight tingling before I opened my eyes. I looked around, and Toothless was larger than me, I took that as a good sign. I raised my arms up to my face and saw fingers; my fingers.

"Yes!" I said.

Toothless roared in triumph.

I stood warily, my legs a little shaky.

"Come on,bud." I told him, still unsettled from this night's recent revelation. "I need to get back."

I mounted him, grateful for the fact that my prosthetic was still present when I transformed back. I leapt onto the saddle and we both flew as fast as we could, back to the cove. I leapt down from the saddle, patted Toothless goodbye and tied my ripped cloak around my shoulders hastily.

I raced back to the castle as fast as I could. I had missed dinner, but that didn't matter. I wasn't hungry. Instead, I stopped by the library and picked up a book before heading to the Ravenclaw common room.

I didn't stop to think as to why my cloak was ripped, or about how it's contents were emptied out onto the forest floor. I could only think about one thing, and that was what had happened earlier.

I had a lot of research to do.


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's Note: Hello everyone! I have to give a special thanks to all the Triwizard tournament ideas and their owners. They are all so creative and it's so tempting to use them all, I think I'm going to have a hard time choosing only three...**

**So, for this chapter, there's a huge secret revealed for the Big Four, though it's probably not _that_ big a surprise for all you readers, having seen the movies (I hope). There's some conflict at the end, and conflict isn't normally my specialty, so feel free to critique it as much as you want. Feedback is always welcome. Enjoy the chapter.**

I sat in front of the fire, fiddling with my hair nervously as Merida and Jack worked together on some homework we were given days ago. I was worried. Where was Hiccup? What had happened? Merida had told me he had left to a meeting with Prof. North while Jack had stayed awfully silent.

"It can't be a Hippogriff, Jack. Those things don't eat muggles." Merida muttered angrily. They were still arguing over some Care of Magical Creatures homework, the bickering over answers having gone on for hours.

"Well, then what is it?" Jack asked equally as frustrated. He sighed. "Where's Hiccup when you need him?"

A small creak could be heard as the Ravenclaw room door swung open. My head snapped up to the doorway. A small boy clutching a book stepped through the doorway quietly and closed the door behind him.

"Hiccup!" I said. I stood from my chair and ran over to him.

"Oh. Hi there, Rapunzel." He said.

"Where were you?"I asked.

Hiccup looked over to Merida and Jack, who were just standing now.

"I thought I told Merida I had a meeting." He muttered.

"Where were you, Haddock?" Merida demanded. "You run off the quidditch pitch, give a half-hearted excuse and then don't come back for hours!"

I looked over at Jack. He frowned sightly while studying Hiccup.

"What did you do to your robes?" He asked.

"What do you mean?" Hiccup asked.

I reached forward and grasped the torn fabric of his robes, fingering a hole.

"Oh." He said. "I didn't realize-"

Suddenly, Merida gasped and pointed to Hiccups leg. I looked down trying to spot whatever had frightened Merida so much.

"Hiccup, what-your foot!" She squeaked.

I looked down to where Merida was pointing and saw a shiny metal contraption poking out from under his robes where Hiccup's left foot should have been. I dropped the fabric quickly, instead stumbling back, away from the surreal sight. I could hear Jack take a sharp inhale of breath beside me, while Merida stood there, frozen in shock.

"Uh, yeah. My foot, is missing." Hiccup said half-heartedly.

"What?" Jack barely whispered. "Why didn't..." He trailed off.

Hiccup sighed and turned to placed the large book he was carrying on a table beside him. He then sat down in an armchair in front of the fire. I walked over and sat down in front of him, on a plush couch. Merida stayed standing beside Hiccup and Jack perched himself atop the back of the couch.

He leaned forward and ran a hand through his mop of auburn hair.

"So, you guys know my dad right?" He asked, tiredly.

"The Chief of your village." I stated, not realizing I had spoken.

"Yeah. Well, this summer we had an...argument." Hiccup sighed. "I did something against his belief's, betrayed the village, he disowned me. I had warned them against...a creature. It was something they couldn't defeat on their own. But he was so stubborn. I had to go in before they could get there and save them, and I lost something in turn."

"Hiccup-" Merida whispered.

"They found me, unconscious on the beach, took me in, healed me. Don't worry. I defeated the...creature. But, when I woke up I-I realized I was missing something." Hiccup's voice grew very quiet. "I had lost...my leg."

"Oh my god. Hiccup-" I said. A hand flew up to my mouth, stifling tears.

Hiccup pulled up his tattered cloak to reveal a shiny, metal device where his leg used to be.

"So, peg leg!' He said with mock enthusiasm. "I made it myself, actually." He allowed himself a small, proud smile. "I made it in the village forge, then I...ran away." He dropped the cloak. "I haven't returned to the village. It doesn't matter anyways. Snotlout will become chief, my Dad will move on, Gobber will...find a new apprentice."

Merida's arms dropped to her sides and she began muttering to herself. She sat down on the couch Jack was perched upon. Hiccup stared glumly down at the floor while I tried so hard to fight back the tears. How had none of us noticed? Why didn't Hiccup tell us?

"Why didn't you tell us all this was happening?" I asked. "You could have sent an owl, or-or asked for help-"

"My village has...stubborness issues. We refuse to let others fight our battles. Vikings pride and all that."

"Vikings...?" Merida muttered, suddenly over her shock.

Hiccup winced. "Uh, yes. Vikings."

"You mean, you're a Viking?" She asked. Merida sounded betrayed and hurt. "You are a Viking." She whispered.

"Not anymore." Hiccup said, sounding equally as hurt as Merida.

I couldn't move, couldn't say anything. My mind still reeled around the fact that Hiccup had lost his leg. If he had just sent an owl, or asked for help, I could have helped. My hair would have fixed it and he wouldn't be crippled.

Merida began shouting. "Your people have murdered hundreds of our men, have pillaged harmless villages and you have the nerve, to-to come here and be-"

"My clan," Hiccup said over Merida's ranting. "Doesn't kill anyone. We don't pillage harmless villages, we haven't invaded the Scots ever since my dad became Chief." Hiccup stood and faced Merida.

"Guys-" Jack began.

"But that doesn't stop other Vikings from attacking our lands!" Merida said. "They are your people Hiccup-"

"They are not my people, Merida." Hiccup said.

I could only stare in mute horror at my two best friends, fighting. The room became uncomfortably quiet as Merida and Hiccup stared silently at each other.

"My father has disowned me, my mother is dead, and my only friend on that godforsaken island was a blacksmith. They are not my people anymore Merida, I am not a Viking." Hiccup said calmly, though I could see him shaking slightly.

Merida was silent, as were the rest of us. I looked over to Jack, the helplessness evident on my face. He appeared just as worried as I was.

"I'm sorry, I just..." Hiccup sighed. "I'm going to... I'll go now."

He walked over to the table he had left his book on and tucked it under his arm. He walked up the stairway, clutching the railing for support. I could now hear the distinct step-clunk-step-clunk of his steps as he climbed the wooden staircase. How could we have been so ignorant, so foolish?

"Merida?" I asked quietly.

"What is it, Punzie?" She whispered.

"Do you feel as bad as I do?"

"Even worse."


	11. Chapter 11

**I was very pleased by the reactions I've received so far. I'm glad you all enjoyed the last chapter as the story thickens. I wanted to get a good chapter or two in before the actual plot begins. Hope you enjoy this one, and remember; I'm still accepting Triwizard tournament ideas!**

I sat alone in the Great Hall. It was dawn and not a single soul was awake in the castle. I sat in my usual spot at Gryffindor table, mulling over last night's argument with Hiccup. My mind reeled at the discovery of his leg. He treated it like it was no big deal, he had gone 2 whole months without mentioning it. It was like it was a secret he didn't want us knowing, or something that was painful to remember.

Then, with a flash, my mind reeled back to the scathing comments I had made about him and the Vikings. Over the years, I had called them bloody, barbaric, senseless brutes who never thought of anyone but themselves. I had let my pride as a Scot get in the way of being a friend.

_My father has disowned me, my mother is dead, and my only friend on that godforsaken island was a blacksmith. They are not my people anymore Merida, I am not a Viking._

Hiccup's words continue to ring in my ears as I tried to block them out with new thoughts. Just at that moment though, the Great Halls doors swung open and someone walked in. Their robes rustled loudly and the clunk of something metal resounded against the marble floor.

I stood from my spot and saw a familiar mop of auburn hair, tousled and looking windblown. I noticed the serious face hidden beneath it and saw the over sized robes hanging from that persons skinny frame.

I saw Hiccup, and he saw me.

He stopped walking and paused, his forest green eyes searching my face. Pursing his lips, he began walking towards me. I stood up from where I sat as Hiccup neared the table.

"I'm sorry." We both said at the same time.

"What are you sorry for?" I asked him.

"I-I was being foolish and I said things that I shouldn't have, and last night-"

"Hiccup, the only thing you did that was foolish was not telling me sooner. I mean, it was my fault, about the argument. I was just so shocked and-" I stopped. This was odd, I felt a lump form in my throat. I was choking up. "You-you didn't deserve that. I'm sorry Hiccup."

Hiccup nodded mutely. He shifted awkwardly and we stood there for a few moments in silence, lost in our own thoughts. Then, I noticed a large book he had under his arm.

"So, what's that book about?" I asked him.

Hiccup looked down at the book tucked under his left arm, as though checking to make sure it was still there.

"Oh. Uh, this is a book about dragons." He said, gesturing to the thick novel.

"Why dragons?" I asked.

Hiccup shrugged. "Back on Berk, we have a dragon book, and I wanted to see what other opinions were out there, since ours were mostly about killing them and stuff."

"Can I see it?" I asked.

Hiccup nodded and placed the book on the table. "Yeah. I mean it's the schools book, it's not actually mine so-"

I gave him a look.

"Yeah. Sure." He summed up.

We sat at the table, pouring over the pages together, so lost in the images and different species, we didn't notice Punzie and Jack walk in to join us, or any of the other several hundred students walk in. Jack cleared his throat awkwardly.

"So, uh did you two..." He pointed between Hiccup and I, uncertain.

Hiccup closed the book and swept it into his satchel. "Uh, yeah. Yeah I think we did."

Jack sighed in relief and Punzie smiled.

"Good." He said, sliding in on the other side with Rapunzel. "Cause I was worried we might have to choose sides or something." He grinned mischievously. "Hey, Punz, who do you think would win in a fight between them?"

Punzie frowned. "I don't know. Merida, if it were punching and stuff, but Hiccup if it came to magic."

Hiccup scoffed. "Yeah right. There is no way Merida could take all this." He gestured to himself.

"Please, Fishbone." I scoffed. "I could take you any day."

"I've got my bets on Horrendous." Jack said. "He's a feisty little sprite."

Hiccup shot a glare at Jack.

"DunBroch" Punzie quipped, grinning at Jack.

"Everyone quiet down!" North boomed across the hall. I looked up to see him standing at the speaking podium. He was obviously going to make an announcement.

"Now, I have news for everyone!" He said. "For this month, council has made decision on celebrations. For big event there has been decision..." The Hall went silent. "It is Flying Tournament!"

The Hall exploded in noise, the sounds of foot stomping and applause thundering through the room.

Each month, the school held an event of some sort, to help everyone relax and enjoy learning instead of having to worry about homework constantly. The Flying Tournament was a school wide favourite. The teachers got to choose the teams from existing Quidditch players. They could choose from any house but could only accept 7 players per team. There were always 3 Chasers, 2 Beaters, a Keeper and a Seeker. The teachers would always engage in some 'friendly competition' as Prof. Toothiana put it.

"Professors will be posting teams in First Floor hallway after dinner. Now eat!" And with a loud clap, the food appeared at the tables.

"I can't wait for this year's tournament" I said excitedly. "Who do you think will be chosen for Prof. Norths team?" I asked them. Being the headmaster, Prof. North always got first choice on players, and his team rarely ever lost.

"I don't know." Jack said. "I've barely been here for 2 months." He frowned lightly. "That sing along last month wasn't much fun."

"I loved that sing along!" Punzie said. "But for Prof. North's team, I bet Hiccup will be his Seeker." Rapunzel said thoughtfully.

I saw Hiccup go slightly red in the face. He appeared suddenly very interested in his half-full plate.

We continued debating teams, and took bets on who would play what positions. While Punzie explained to Jack the skill set of each player, loud hoots could be heard from overhead.

"The owls are here!" I said. Hundreds of packets of mail rained down from above, landing on plates and several student's heads. A small green envelope landed in my lap and I looked up to see my barn owl, Cailleach, flying out the large windows.

I looked across the table to see Jack and Punzie both receiving letters, looks of surprise on both their faces. I heard a heavy thump and looked over to my left, only to see Hiccup being knocked off his seat by his nearly meter tall owl.

"Ow! Volr!" Hiccup said. The owl hooted and righted himself. Hiccup stood and held out an arm, allowing Volr to perch upon his shoulder. The dark grey owl was actually quite light, as it was the dense feathers that gave him his huge appearance. The owl ruffled Hiccup's hair as he sat back down on the bench. Others further down the table noticed the huge beast land on the table, and were whispering among themselves.

"It's fine, Volr." Hiccup murmured to the owl. "I know I don't have any mail." He picked up a scrap of bread to feed to the deceptively large bird before sending him on his way back to the owlery.

The birds all left the room, and it seemed almost peaceful without them. Students all around us opened their letters and read articles their parents had sent them. I heard laughter from a few tables down, most likely coming from the Slytherins.

As we finished reading our letters, students began leaving the Great Hall, making their way to classes. Hiccup, bored while waiting for us to finish reading our letters, had enchanted an apple to float around us, aimlessly making circles around each of our heads until we finally swatted it away, annoyed.

We all stood and collected our things, and began making our way to Potions class with Prof. Pitch. We walked down the halls, then approached the stairs that led down to the dungeons.

"Can't we just skip this class?" Jack complained. "I hate Potions with Pitch."

"So do I." I said. "But we can't skip it, or Pitch'll be at our throats for the rest of the term."

"Come on you guys, Potions isn't that bad." Punzie said.

"That's because you're a good cook, Punzie." I said. "And you're always paired with Haddock, which is completely unfair."

"Wha-how is that unfair?" Hiccup asked.

"Because the best cook in 5th year and the school's top student paired together is like an A+ waiting to happen." Jack said.

I chortled and Hiccup snorted.

We entered the dark and dreary room used for potions. It was damp and frigid, and Prof. Pitch always insisted that the room be kept in the dark for some absurd reason. We all sat down in our assigned seats, with our usual partners. I sat with Jack in the far back, with Punzie and Hiccup further ahead on the left side of the room, the Ravenclaw side. We waited for Pitch to arrive, chatting idly with each other and other Gryffindors.


	12. Chapter 12

**Sorry I haven't updated for a while. This whole week has been nothing but due dates! I finally had some free time, so I decided to write a few chapters. Enjoy! (Don't forget to review! I love hearing from you readers.)**

I sat down beside Merida in our usual desk, a long, polished dark oak table with wobbly stools to match. I leaned back in my seat and turned to talk to Merida.

"So, you seem pretty excited for this Flying Tournament." I said.

Merida nodded. "It's my favourite. I haven't gotten chosen for any teams since last year, and it was the best two games I've ever played."

"Only two?" I asked. "Punzie said there were 11 games."

"Yeah. We got eliminated after facing Tooth's team. I was on Prof. Sandy's and he tends to get the brunt of all the choices." Merida sighed.

I smiled. "Who won last year?"

"Prof. North's team. You should have seen it! They had barely been playing for a minute when suddenly, in swoops the Chief catches the snitch right off the bat! I still can't believe it." Merida shook her head in disbelief. "You've gotta hand it to him, Hiccup's more useful than he looks."

"I heard that." Hiccup called from his table.

"I know you did." Merida said. "Eavesdropping Viking." She muttered under breath.

"Heard that too!"

Suddenly, the class became much darker, and all students turned to face the looming figure that stood in the doorway.

Pitch had arrived.

"Hello, class. Open textbooks to page 117." He ordered. "Today we will be brewing the liquid shadow potion." Pitch smiled an evil grin, causing some of the nearest students to shrink back in fright.

I swear, this man got kicks out of making children cry.

"I expect a finished potion by the end of class. Go!" He barked the last word, causing several people to flinch in their seats.

I grabbed the textbook from Merida and flipped to page 117. This potion looked particularly difficult, made with very finicky ingredients.

I groaned. "There is no way we are passing this one."

"Och. Pitch is raving mad if he expects anyone to master this." Merida said.

"Time is up!" Pitch called out. Many students began standing up, ready to turn in their finished potions.

"Sit down." Pitch snarled at them. "Now, I need a volunteer."

The class remained silent, not a single person moved.

"No Gyffindors?" He asked mockingly. "I thought you were the house of the brave and daring, no?" He walked down the aisle, searching through the students for his next victim. "Fine then. Better be Ravenclaw."

Several kids on the Ravenclaw side of the room stiffened, none of them wanting to be Pitch's unlucky volunteer.

"Haddock, why don't you come stand up here." He declared, seeming to find joy in picking on the kid with the worst luck in his class.

"The gods must hate me." I heard Hiccup mutter. He strode hesitantly to the front of the class, with Pitch following behind him like a wraith. I watched closely, my hand gripping my wand tightly. There was just something about Pitch...

"Corona." Pitch snapped. "Bring up your potion."

Rapunzel swallowed heavily, carrying the black cauldron to Pitch's desk with both hands. With a final, worried glance at Hiccup, she sat back down in her spot, her hands shaking slightly.

"Now, Haddock, I want you to test this potion." Pitch snarled. "Take a vial of it, and pour it on the ground. If the potion turns the stone into nothing but shadow, you pass." He raised a slim finger. "However, if it does not, detention. For both you and Corona." He nearly sung.

Hiccup took a vial off of Pitch's desk and held it in his left hand, shaking slightly.

"Uh, Professor. How am I supposed to, uh, put the potion into the vial?" He asked, his voice wavering slightly.

"Simply scoop it. Surely, that can't be too hard." Pitch grinned that terrifying smile again. "Ravenclaw is the house of the smart and the wise."

"But sir, if I touch it-"

"Do it, Haddock!" Pitch snapped.

The whole class held their breath, including Merida and I.

Hiccup stood a little straighter and held the vial at the ready. He reached down and held the vial close to the surface of the potion. A pin could have dropped and it would have sounded like a bomb had gone off.

In one motion, Hiccup swiftly dunked his hand into the potion, and brought it out, his hand completely black like a shadow. The class gasped at such daring, but Hiccup simply poured the potion onto the floor.

Then, instead of Hiccup's hand staying black, it did something. His skin seemed to suck in the darkness. It was like watching a sponge absorb water. We all watched, in awe as Hiccup stood completely stoic, his skin returning to it's normal colour.

Pitch didn't speak, and no one seemed able to manage to make any sound. The stone floor stayed black, as dark as Pitch's robes. Hiccup stood at the front of the class, still staring at the vial clasped in his hand.

"Class is dismissed." Pitch muttered. His eyes seemed to dance with malice and unknown glee. I glared at him. If Pitch weren't a teacher, he would be my number one suspect. Heck, he still was.

Hiccup met me halfway down the aisle. He scooped up his satchel from his spot at his desk and walked beside me as we exited the class. As soon as we reached the first floor, Merida broke the silence hanging in the air.

"What the bloody hell was that, Hiccup?" She asked. She looked slightly dazed, as did the rest of us.

"I-I don't know." Hiccup said. He appeared lost in deep thought, battling with his own mind. "I'm just going to- I have to go. I'll see you guys at lunch." He muttered, brushing past me.

"Hiccup-" Merida said. I placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Merida, just let him think for a minute. He needs it." I told her.

Rapunzel hadn't uttered single word since we had left the classroom.

"Rapunzel?" I asked. "You alright?"

"He wasn't supposed to be able to do that." She muttered. "The darkness should have spread, turning him into a shadow. But it didn't. His skin absorbed it. It doesn't make sense." She said.

"Maybe it was your potion?" Merida said, though she sounded unsure.

Rapunzel shook her head. "No...it turned the stone into shadow, it should have done the same to him."

We stayed silent for a moment, the silence hanging over us as dark as the shadow potion we had all just made.

"I think we should go now. We're going to be late to DADA with Bunny." I said, trying to make light of the situation. "Can't have the kangaroo mad at us again."

Rapunzel nodded mutely while Merida kept staring in the direction Hiccup had left, a slight frown creasing her forehead. I frowned as well. I had a reason to call a Guardian's meeting tonight; I needed to report something.


	13. Chapter 13

**Well, here is the 13th chapter! Sorry I haven't been posting as often, but these next two months are going to be _busy_. Dance recitals, homework and assignments are kind of time consuming. Don't worry about a shortage of chapters or a hiatus, though. I would never abandon this story, not until I see it through. Enjoy!**

I stood in the forest, absentmindedly scratching Toothless, completely lost in thought. My mind kept travelling back to the same moment in time, those few seconds on constant replay over and over.

"I just don't understand, bud." I told him.

The darkness had absorbed into my skin, and the worst part about it, I had felt more powerful afterwards, like I could cast a thousand wordless spells all at once with no wand. The truth was, it scared me. Did it have something to do with my new found ability? The strange power to turn into a dragon at will? Not only a dragon, but some unknown species, unheard of by both Vikings and wizards.

Toothless crooned gently, pulling me out from the deep recesses of my mind and instead, bringing me back to the present. He nudged my foot gently, concern in his large green eyes.

"Right. Let's go flying." I said. I swung a leg over the saddle when Toothless suddenly shook me from his back. I landed with a solid thump on the forest floor, staring dazedly up at Toothless.

"What was that for?" I asked him, pushing myself back onto my feet.

Toothless roared, and it echoed throughout the forest. I was confused. What did he want?

"I thought you wanted to go flying?" I asked him. We had already gone this morning, before daylight could break the clouds. Flight liberated us and cleared my head, and it was always a relief to be up in the air, where we belonged.

Toothless roared again and spread his wings, then he pressed his head into my chest, pushing me backwards.

"What...?" I said.

Toothless deadpanned, well, as close as a dragon can get to a deadpanned expression. Then, he spread his wings, roared again and nudged me with his head. Realization struck me.

"You want me...to turn into the dragon?" I asked.

Toothless grunted and sat down on his haunches, waiting patiently.

I stood there for a few seconds, collecting my thoughts. I closed my eyes briefly and thought of flying, of open skies and of fire and wind. A slight tingling ran through my body. When I opened my eyes, the colours were sharper, scents stronger and Toothless smaller. I roared in triumph.

I had did it! I had transformed into a dragon at will!

Toothless warbled in excitement. He leapt around me and shot a celebratory fireball into the sky. I mimicked him, shooting my own black ball of plasma fire into the clouds. This was great. Imagine, all the possibilities of taking another form by will. If only I could finish that automatic tail fin for Toothless...

I opened my wings, loving the feeling of how far they reached and how immense they were. I hadn't noticed earlier, but when they caught the light, they shone a million different colours, captured under a layer of black. It made me wonder what the rest of my body looked like.

I began walking over to the shallow pond . I tucked my wings close to my body and peered over the edge, into the water. Large, forest green eyes stared back at me, the same green eyes I possessed as a human. They were framed by a large, delicate face, with small frills lining my skull. My ears lay back against my skull, much like Toothless, and a long, elegant neck stretched from my body. I was covered in black scales, so dark that it looked like they had sucked the colour out of everything around me. It made Toothless look turquoise compared to my scales.

I could tell now, that this body was made for flying. Everything about it was aerodynamic. The large and powerful wings, the flat narrow head, the long tail and wide tail fins. The only problem was, I didn't know how to fly.

I closed my eyes, and focused on being human again. I felt the familiar tingling in my limbs and when I opened my eyes, I was in my human form once again. It seemed almost easy now, second nature.

"Come on, bud." I told Toothless. I needed time to clear my head and think about this. "Let's go flying."

"What is reason you called meeting, Jack?" North asked me.

I stood from the high backed chair I was lounging in. I walked over to the table the rest of the Guardians were gathered around. I twirled my wand between my fingers with my right hand, while my left rested comfortably in the pocket of my robes.

"Something happened today in potions." I said. "We were making liquid darkness potions or whatever when Pitch called Hiccup up to the front of the room. He told him to scoop some of the potion into a vial without touching it, which is impossible." I stopped twirling the wand between my fingers and placed it in my robes. "Hiccup literally dunked his hand into the potion."

Tooth gasped from her spot beside me. "But...that's not possible!" She fluttered nervously. "The darkness should have spread, and he should have been-"

"Covered in shadows. I know." I sighed. "Punzie told me." I met North's eyes. "Pitch ordered him to, and Hiccup did. I think Pitch might have done something to Hiccup, a charm or something to make him immune. He pulled some sort of sick, twisted joke."

North frowned, deep in thought. Sandy flashed many symbols above his head, each one exploding in a puff of golden sand. Bunny looked slightly angry.

"I do not think it was Pitch who did something." North finally said.

"What are you saying, mate?" Bunny asked.

"What I am saying, Bunny, is that it is not Pitch who used dark magic, it is boy."

The room was silent except for Tooth's wings fluttering to keep her in the air.

"You don't think Hiccup..." Tooth asked, a hand brought up to her mouth.

"I wish we knew more about that scroll you've got there, Sandy." Bunny sighed.

"Being able to actually read the prophecy could help." I deadpanned.

North frowned again. "I try to best of my ability, but Norse is difficult language. Nothing like Russian."

"Wait, you said Norse, right?" I asked. "Don't Vikings speak Norse?"

Sandy flashed a giant thumbs up above his head and smiled.

"Well, who is the only person in this castle that's a Viking?" I asked. Silence met my question.

"Haddock." Tooth muttered.

"Exactly. We get Hiccup to translate the prophecy for us, so we can actually discover what it means." I said, proud of my idea.

"You do realize, that if Haddock boy is one of prophecy, we make him translate his own fate." North said.

I hesitated. I eventually gave a firm nod of my head. "We need to know what this prophecy is about. I don't want to but..."

"Snowflakes right." Bunny agreed.

I smiled. "Listen to the kangaroo. He knows what he's saying."

"I'm a bunny." Bunnymund growled.

North nodded slowly. "We agree to keep eye on Haddock boy?" He asked, looking to change the subject before a fight broke out. We all nodded, Tooth and I a little more hesitantly than the rest. North rolled up the scroll with two large hands and shoved it at my chest.

"Give scroll to Haddock boy, Jack." North rumbled.

I nodded. I couldn't shake the feeling that this was wrong, like I was handing over a fate my friend didn't deserve.


	14. Chapter 14

**I feel like I haven't been updating as much lately...Sorry. Hopefully this double update will make up for it. Due to frequent requests, I have decided to label whose POV each section of the chapter is written in. I hope you enjoy!**

_**Merida**_

I waited in the Great Hall with Punzie, trying to spy the familiar snow white and auburn head's of my friends. Punzie was putting away her potions textbook when Hiccup walked in. He appeared much happier and refreshed.

"Chief!" I called. Hiccup turned to look at me and smiled. He made his way over, tucking his leather journal into the folds of his over sized robes. "They're posting the Tournament's teams after dinner. Whose team do you want to be on?" I decided to evade the topic of potions. For now.

Hiccup shrugged. "It doesn't really matter to me. What about you?"

"I'm hoping for at least Bunnymund's team." I said. "He nearly beat North two years ago."

Suddenly, Jack slid in between us, breaking me and Hiccup apart. I frowned at him.

"What are you carrying?" Punzie asked him.

"This, my friends, is a really confusing scroll." He said. He dropped it onto the table. It was about the size of a map, and the parchment was old and dusty. "I've been trying to translate it for days, but I don't actually know what language it's in."

"What's it for?" I asked him.

Jack hesitated. "My Mom asked me to translate it for her. It's an old family heirloom."

I frowned slightly. That seemed odd. Old family heirloom?

"Why didn't you just use a translation spell?" Punzie asked.

"My parents have tried that." Jack said. "It's got some sort of curse or something on it. Last time they tried, there was a small fire."

Jack turned to Hiccup. "I was thinking maybe you could translate it." He said.

"Me?'' Hiccup asked. "Why?"

"Because you're smart and stuff."

"And you're lazy." Hiccup sighed. He reached over and grabbed the old parchment. His eyebrows drew together into a frown and he eyed Jack.

"I didn't know your family was descended from Vikings. This is old Norse." He said.

Jack shrugged. "Neither did I."

Hiccup spent a moment more studying Jack's face before turning back to the parchment. His eyebrows rose in surprise. "It's a prophecy, or a prediction."

"Cool." Jack said.

"What does it say?" I asked him. Punzie leaned in from where she sat beside me, eager to hear about the old prophecy.

"To sum it up...mostly darkness and power. There's a passage about animagi and a...Night Fury." He whispered the last two words.

"Night Fury?" Rapunzel said. "What's a Night Fury?"

"The unholy offspring of lightning and death itself." Hiccup muttered. He placed the scroll down and handed it to Jack. "Those are some serious predictions right there. Pretty...foreboding."

"Sounds great." Jack said. He rolled the scroll up quickly, and tucked it into his book bag, which was never used to hold books.

Suddenly, the food disappeared from the table and everybody looked up to Headmaster North, who stood at the speaking podium.

"Lists for Flying Tournament ae posted on east wall of castle!" He said. There was loud cheering, followed by a muffling silence. "If you made team, check with Professor's for more information. Tournament will be two weeks from Tuesday! Good luck to all students!" He cheered and the Great Hall exploded into noise.

"I can't wait to see who made the teams!" I cheered. Punzie looked just as enthusiastic as I felt while Jack frowned at the parchment and Hiccup wrote something down in his journal.

"Come on you guys!" Punzie said. "Let's go see who made the teams!"

**_Rapunzel_**

_Professor North's Team_

_Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III_

_Sean Quinton Trelliem_

_Anna Kandorf_

_Merida DunBroch_

_Amélie Declan Dupoint_

_Jacob Hart_

_Lana Ami Walnet_

_First practice: The 25, after midday meal_

I ran over to my friends beaming. They were all waiting for the results of the Quidditch teams.

"Hiccup! Merida! You both made Prof. North's team!" I squealed.

"Really?" Merida gasped. "Haha! Finally, we are going to win this year!" Merida cheered.

Hiccup smiled and Jack patted Merida's shoulder encouragingly.

"Congrats Merida." He said. He glanced at Hiccup. "You too Horrendous."

"Thanks, Jackson." Hiccup rolled his eyes.

"So when's the first practice?" Merida asked. "I hope it's during Potions."

"I don't know." I said."The list said after midday meal on the 25th."

Merida groaned. "That's two whole days from now. I'll never make it!"

"Oh no, how will we survive?" Hiccup deadpanned.

Merida punched his arm playfully, and grinned.

"We've got a free period." Jack said. "Why don't we go flying?"


	15. Chapter 15

**Okay, really short chapter. But it's a double update, so...no harm done, right? Hope you enjoy!**

_**Hiccup**_

I stepped into Gryffindor common room with Merida and Jack practically sprinting upstairs to change and grab their brooms. Punzie followed behind me, carrying her broom daintily. She had changed out of her skirt and robes into a pair of tight pants and a loose shirt meant for flying. I stayed in my over sized robes and dress pants.

"Why haven't you changed, Hiccup?" She asked.

"I don't need to." I said.

Rapunzel frowned and I gave a lopsided grin. "I'm already wearing flying gear under my cloak."

She nodded slowly. "Where's you broom?"

"Oh yeah." I said. "Accio Broom" I recited, waving my ebony wand.

A dark brown broom flew in the doorway of Gryffindor common room, straight into my hands. I staggered slightly at the impact, but remained standing. I grasped the elm handle, the feeling of polished wood familiar in my hands.

Merida came down the stairs first, wearing her Quidditch uniform except for her usual leather gloves. Her cherry wood broom was polished to perfection as she bounced on the balls of her feet. Jack came down the stairs in a similar outfit to Rapunzel's, only with Gryffindor colours.

"Great." Merida declared. "Let's go!"

We reached the Quidditch pitch only minutes later. Thanks to Merida's brisk pace, I had to jog nearly the whole way there. Merida was the first to mount her broom, rising up into the air almost the instant we reached the pitch. I sat down on a bench on the edge of the field and discarded my cloak, revealing the same flying gear I had worn while flying with Toothless this morning. I tightened my prosthetic and stood. I grabbed my broom and mounted, kicking off the ground as I soared straight up into the sky.

The feeling of freedom returned yet again. I felt the cool air snap me away from any morose thoughts I had been thinking earlier. I focused instead on the new feeling of slight unbalance on my left side due to the heavy prosthetic. I wonder if I could do something about that...

"Hey Chief!" Merida called me by my old Quidditch nickname. "What are you doing?"

"I'm testing out my balance. First time I've been on a broom for weeks." I pulled my journal out of my pocket and held it out in front of me, balancing my broomstick with only my legs, as I had learned to do with Toothless. I pulled a charcoal stick out as well and began writing down some new ideas for a lighter, more efficient prosthetic.

If there was a way to somehow compact the condensed spring's inside, or hollow out the pedal to make more room-

I could sense, more than hear a slight disturbance in the air behind me, and knew that someone was trying to sneak up behind me. I smiled to myself. When I heard them beginning to lurch forward I dropped ten feet, using only my knees to steer.

"Shoot!" I heard Merida call above me. I saw her barreling past me above my head and I laughed, snapping my book closed hiding it yet again deep in my robes. I could hear Jack laughing even louder than I was from down below.

"Are you okay Mer?" Rapunzel called from below, though I could tell she too was stifling a giggle.

"How did you know I was coming up behind you?" Merida asked.

"It's a second sense as a Seeker. Besides, you're always trying to see whats in my journal, it wasn't really a shock."

Jack and Rapunzel flew up to meet us in the air. Rapunzel kept her death grip on her broom, convinced that if she let go it would buck her off like a horse and she'd plummet to her death. Jack looked relaxed, though he appeared a bit more tense than usual.

"How about a race?" Jack asked.

"You're on, Frosty." Merida said.

Frosty? The name sounded familiar, like I had heard it before. Frosty sounded an awful lot like...Frosti. Jack Frost sounded very similar to Jokul Frosti, an old Norse legend. He did fit the description perfectly, white hair and icy blue eyes. But Jack wasn't...he could't be... Really?

"Hiccup, you in?" Jack asked.

I tore my gaze from his face. "Yeah, sure." I mumbled and pulled in line between him and Merida.

Could Jackson Overland Frost really be Jokul Frosti, the old winter spirit? That wasn't possible, completely impossible. _Turning into a dragon six times your size is impossible._ A voice said in the back of my mind. I live in a world of magic, nothing was impossible here.

"Ready, set, go!" Rapunzel's voice cried out.

I leaned forward, keeping my body close to the handle of my broom. I instantly pulled ahead from Merida and Jack, leaving them behind in a rush of wind. When I was a good distance ahead of them, I slowed down just enough to stay ahead of them. I passed the finish line and pulled a sharp left turn, turning around to face them as they rushed past me, Merida clearly in the lead.

"Haha!" Merida said. "I won! In your face Overland!"

"What about me?" I asked, a faint smile playing on my lips.

"We all knew you were gonna win." Merida brushed me off. "The real contest was between Frost and I, and I won!"

Merida's celebration was cut short when a huge roar could be heard above the din of our voices. It came from the Forbidden Forest, and it sounded an awful lot like a Night Fury's roar. It resounded across the quidditch pitch, silencing everyone. The roar came again, this time desperate and pleading.

"Toothless." I muttered. I descended instantly, leaving my broom on the ground, not bothering to pick anything up. I wasn't thinking clearly. The broom obviously would have been faster than I was on two legs.

I sprinted towards the Forbidden forest, only one thought trapped in my head. I could hear everybody descending behind me, calling for me to wait. I paid them no heed, all I could think about was getting to my best friend.

I needed to get to Toothless.


	16. Chapter 16

**Alright. So, for this chapter, I was really inspired by the song ****_It's Over When It's Over _****by Falling In Reverse. I just felt while writing it, that the vibe of the song matched the feel of this chapter. Some of you may not agree, but hey, it's inspired me to write, so you should be happy! Take a listen if you have the chance. And, without further ado, I give you chapter #16. Enjoy!**

**Merida POV**

I landed on the ground and dropped my broom. I ran after him, confused and worried. Surprisingly, Hiccup was very fast for someone of his stature. Though he was tall, he was still quite lanky.

"Hiccup, where are you going?" I heard Punzie call behind me.

"Don't run _towards_ the scary noise!" Jack yelled.

I was slowly but surely catching up to him. Just as we reached the edge of he forest, I managed to grab his arm, stopping him. I turned him towards me and we both panted, exhausted. Hiccup tried to break from my grasp, but I held him tight.

"What do you think you're doing?" I asked him.

"He needs me, somethings wrong!" Hiccup said.

"Who? You're acting oddly, Hiccup. Where are you going?."

"I need to get to him, he's in trouble. Come on, Merida! Let go!" He tried to wrench his arm from my grip again, but I held tight. I looked him in the eyes. He looked troubled and worried, battling his panic and fear.

"Hiccup, whats wrong?" I pleaded.

"Toothless is in trouble, Merida!" He cried. "Please, I need to get to him." With a final pull, he managed to escape my firm grip.

He sprinted into the forest and I stood there, unsure of what to do. The forest was out of bounds, completely forbidden to all students. However, Hiccup had just run into the forest, and I wasn't all that certain the wee lamb would make it out alive.

Jack and Punzie managed to catch up to me. Jack's heavy footsteps pulled me from my shock and I began sprinting into the forest, searching for the fleeting form of my troubled friend.

"Merida!" Punzie cried.

"Stay here, Rapunzel." I heard Jack order. "Get North if we don't come back."

I caught Hiccup's shadow briefly darting around a tree. He seemed to know where he was going, and I relied on his sense of direction to not get us lost. Another roar tore through the forest, this one sounded very urgent and panicked, like the creature was calling for someone.

"Toothless!" I heard Hiccup cry, pain evident in his voice. I followed his crashing footsteps as he made his way through the forest. I couldn't hear anyone following us, so I assumed that we had lost Jack on our way.

Eventually, we reached a small cove. I nearly tumbled over the edge, sure to meet a rocky doom if I had continued running in my mad dash towards...wherever it was Hiccup was planning on going.

My eyes rapidly scanned the new setting, searching for Hiccup's familiar form. Instead, I saw the brief flash of motion behind a huge boulder deep within the cove. I skirted around the edges, looking for the creature causing the ruckus. Suddenly, a deeper roar pierced the air, so loud and so close to where I was standing, I nearly jumped.

I ran from where I was standing to the other side of the cove. There were several menacing looking shadows surrounding a dark, leathery, winged creature.

"Dragon." I whispered, for the first time in my life truly terrified. Then, from behind me, an even larger dragon leaped forwards, soaring down into the cove. It screeched, but I didn't recognize te sound, nor could I remember reading about this one from the book of dragons Hiccup and I had read together.

Hiccup. Where had he gone?

With a loud screech, the huge dragon attacked the shadows, ripping them to pieces. The first dragon was small in comparison and sat behind the second one, clearly injured but still covering it's back. It would shoot small balls of purple fire at any shadow that dared come towards the larger dragon.

The second dragon was a magnificent creature, a pure black, even darker than the first one. It stretched it's huge wings and cried a piercing shriek, scaring many shadows away from the fight. It fired off volleys of powerful black balls of fire, each one completely destroying the shadows around it. It slashed through their immense numbers, completely destroying the legion of shadow creatures. It defended the first dragon with a protective fury, and I saw the last of the shadows dart off into the darkness of the forest, protected by the dense foliage of the trees.

I stood, frozen to the spot, completely paralyzed in fear. I couldn't move, couldn't speak, only observe this display of power in front of my very eyes.

The huge dragon stepped backwards once more, scanning the area around the smaller dragon protectively before turning to observe it. The darker dragon was a powerful creature, one not to be messed with. It roared once more, in warning. It's cry echoed past the trees, sending goosebumps along my arm and sending chills down my spine. It's message was clear: _stay away._

I watched as the larger dragon turned around, and looked right at me. It froze where it stood and it seemed to shrink, no longer seeming as imposing as before. I could only stare at it's dark green eyes. They were so familiar, yet so foreign to me.

It shook it's head and turned to the smaller dragon, crooning and nuzzling it in concern. The smaller dragon grunted and shook it's head in an odd way, as though trying to communicate something silently with the other creature.

The larger dragon nodded once and turned to face me yet again. It began advancing towards me slowly and I couldn't move, fear paralyzing my limbs. Suddenly it crouched and used it's powerful legs to push off the ground. It leaped towards me in one swift movement, talons outstretched.

I gasped as it's powerful talons wrenched me up into the air. In a matter of seconds, the ground beneath my feet had disappeared.


	17. Chapter 17

**Oh my gods, 50 reviews? Wooohooo! Haha! I never thought that this story would make it this far, and it's all thanks to my wonderful readers. So, thank you all so very much. Also, sorry about that tiny little cliffhanger last chapter...well, not really. But seriously, thanks again. (50 whole reviews!) This chapter is for you guys. Enjoy!**

**Merida's POV**

The dragons claws were clamped around my shoulders, almost painfully tight. I continued screaming in fear as we soared above the treetops. It's head swiveled down to look at me as it soared, continuing upwards. It's eyes searched my own as it continued ascending towards the heavy hanging clouds.

"Put me down you awful beastie!" I yelled. The dragon didn't respond. I clawed at it's powerful talons, futily trying to pry them away from my shoulders.

Suddenly, we began to descend. I looked below us and noticed how high up we were, higher than I've ever been before, even on a broomstick. I stopped clawing at it's talons and instead gripped them tight, holding on for dear life. We came closer to a clearing in the forest, one very well lit. The dragon swept in close and released me, leaving me to find my footing while it perched itself in a huge tree. The tree groaned under it's weight, but it still held.

I fell onto my back, scrambling away from the beast in a mad panic. My back struck the trunk of a tree. I sat there, frozen, eyeing the powerful beast as it observed me from it's perch.

We sat there, at a standstill.

"Your eyes..." I muttered, unaware the words had past my lips.

The dragon suddenly tensed up, tearing it's gaze away from mine. It leaped gracefully from the tree and came slightly closer, then stopped. It closed it's eyes before whipping around, it's wings raised. It backed up, closer to me and I shut my eyes, fear once again coursing through me.

After a moment passed and the beastie hadn't attacked me, I opened my eyes. I saw the dark black hide of the dragon as it stood in front of me, it's wings stretched wide, blocking my view of it's front. It's wings blocked out the sun completely, making me feel like I was surrounded in a shadow. I heard a faint rumbling sound come from the dragon and assumed it was growling.

Was it trying to...protect me? But from what?

I stood slowly, and silently began making my way past the dragon, finding a way to skirt around it so I could see what exactly it was blocking my view from. I finally reached the edge of it's immense wingspan and peered past it, into the trees.

I saw familiar icy blue eyes, and shocking white hair. It was Jack.

"Back away slowly, Merida." Jack whispered.

I nodded. The dragon lowered it's wings slowly and turned to look at me, it's green eyes confused. I dashed over to stand behind a tree and with fumbling fingers, I tried to pry my wand from it's holster on my hip.

"Stay away from her." I heard Jack growl at the beast. The dragon crooned and I almost felt...sympathy?

The dragon kept staring between Jack and I. I vaguely noticed Jack had a staff now, instead of a wand. The dragon turned to me and Jack yelled.

"Move!" He said. I leaped out of the way and rolled, my fight instincts taking over. I turned and saw Jack shooting an icy blast at the dragon. The dragon scrambled away in a very un-dragonlike fashion, it's forest green eyes flashing in surprise as it continued backing away. Jack shot another blast at the beast, and this time, the dragon retaliated. It shot a small black blast of fire at Jack.

"Jack!" I cried, fearing for his safety.

Jack was knocked back. He hit a tree with a solid thump and was knocked onto his knees. The dragon warbled and froze in it's place. It took a step forwards, then stopped. It looked concerned, like it hadn't meant to do that. With a final look of uncertainty and a sorrowful glance at Jack's crumpled body, it stretched it's wings open and took off, leaving me and a still recovering Jack behind.

**Hiccup's POV**

I landed in the cove, stumbling forward in my human form. I walked over to Toothless to check on him as I had left him to deal with Merida, hoping it would not take long. That is, before Jack showed up. I had checked on Toothless's wounds before I left, which had already healed. They were only small scratches and had already faded into scars.

"Come on Toothless. We're leaving. For good." I sighed.

Toothless crooned and cocked his head at me, asking a silent question.

I walked over and cast a charm over his artificial tail fin. I had found a certain spell which I had altered only slightly to allow him to operate his fake tail fin with his remaining one. It mimicked his right, copying it's movements, allowing him to fly on his own. At least until the spell wore off.

"I...attacked Jack and then there was Merida...oh, this just so messed up." I said. I sat down on the ground and held my head between my hands. "Though, to be fair Jack did attack me first."

Toothless lay down beside me and wrapped his tail around my body.

"Thanks bud." I murmured. "It's just too much, Toothless. After this summer and now...this...I have nowhere left to go."

Toothless snorted and stood. He poked me with his head insisting I stop moping around. I stood up. He began pushing me towards the exit of the cove.

"What? Toothless, no. We have to get going-"

"Hiccup?" I heard a familiar voice call. "Hiccup? Answer me you daft Viking!"

Merida.

"Toothless, come on. We really need to go now-"

Toothless became more insistent, shoving me closer and closer to the exit of the cove. Towards Merida's voice. Realization struck me.

"You want me to call her?" I asked him.

Toothless rolled his green, reptilian eyes.

"Fine, but you need to hide. I want to ease them into this. Can't have another reaction like Dad..."

Toothless snorted, but left anyways, hiding behind a large rock that hid him completely when he crouched down.

I took a deep breath. "Merida!" I yelled. "Over here!"

I heard crashing footsteps. "Come on, Frost. I heard him over here." I heard Merida's voice, muffled by distance.

"Hiccup?" I heard Jack call.

"I'm in the cove." I called back. They were closer now, and I stood waiting. They crashed through the underbrush with Merida taking the lead. She saw me and ran, flinging her arms around my neck in a tight hug. I stood there, not quite sure what to do when Merida pulled away and punched me in the arm.

"What did you think you were doing, you bloody idiot!" She yelled.

"Well I-"

"You run off the quidditch pitch like a madman, then you prance through the forest on a mad chase for a 'Toothless'. Then, a bloody dragon attacks and you're sitting here, in a cove, perfectly fine. You scared me nearly half to death!" Merida finished her rant with a huff.

"Are you done?" I asked her quietly.

Merida crossed her arms but nodded.

"Good." I sighed. "Jack, you should probably go let Rapunzel know we're safe."

Jack paused, and looked between Merida and I before nodding and walking back into the woods.

"So...nice afternoon we're having." I stated awkwardly. Gods, how was I supposed to do this?

"Start explaining, Haddock." Merida said.

I hesitated slightly before whistling, signalling Toothless to come out from his hiding place.

"Merida, meet Toothless. Toothless, Merida." I said. I stood between the two, just in case either one got any ideas. Toothless growled and Merida took out her wand. "Toothless, easy." I warned.

Toothless continued growling at Merida, but stopped advancing.

"Tha-that's one of the dragons." She said. She raised her wand a little higher.

"Uh, yeah. You know, uh, magic doesn't really work on dragons. They just absorb it." I told her.

"You have a bloody dragon." Merida said, ignoring my comment about magic and instead observing Toothless closely. "Where's the other one?" She said, turning around.

"Uh, what other one?" I asked, playing dumb.

"There was another dragon, darker than this one and he shot black fire. He attacked me and Jack-"

"Oh. Well, as far as I know Toothless is, uh, the only one." I cut her off. I walked over to pet Toothless and Merida watched with a hunters eye.

"You wanna pet him?" I asked her.

"It's a bloody dragon, of course I want to pet it." She scoffed. She slowly lowered her wand and placed it back into it's holster on her hip.

I grabbed her hand while gently leading her closer to Toothless. I kept my right hand on Toothless's snout, while using my left to guide Merida's. I reached over with my left hand and placed Merida's hand on his nose. Merida gasped and Toothless's pupils dilated.

"See, not that hard." I told her.

"I thought Vikings killed dragons." Merida whispered.

I winced. "Well, yeah. And that's kinda why I was disowned anyways."

"Tell me." Merida said, while still stroking Toothless.

"Oh. Tell you. Well, uh you know, I met Toothless in the forest after, shooting him down." I mumbled the last part, kicking a stone on the ground. "To sum it up, Toothless got into the village and defended me, Dad caught him. I defended Toothless, and the villagers went berserk. I also accidentally gave away the location of the dragons nest after keeping it secret for months. Betrayed the village and whatnot." I deadpanned.

Merida cast a final, wistful look and Toothless before walking closer to me. She stood on my right, her arms crossed defiantly across her chest.

"What are you going to do?" She asked, fire flitting through her eyes.

I paused. What was I going to do?


	18. Chapter 18

**Alright, it's about time for an update. Big things happen during this chapter. Big, important things. Let me know what you think in a review. Enjoy!**

**Jack POV**

I stood behind the cover of the trees, hidden behind a huge pine tree. My jaw dropped as I saw Hiccup bring out a dragon and show it to Merida. I didn't recognize this one, as it was not the huge one that had attacked me. I gripped my staff tightly, prepared for a fight if one broke out.

Hiccup had told me to go tell Punzie we were okay, and now I knew why. He didn't trust me enough with this secret. He wanted me out of the way while he showed Merida his dragon.

Again, my suspicions against Hiccup flared, and I now had viable proof against him. Hiccup was probably suspicious of me too, and if he was the one of the prophecy, he had reasons to be suspicious. Still, part of me was reluctant to report this to North. Hiccup was still my friend, dark magic and secrets aside. I couldn't betray him, could I?

"...betrayed the village and whatnot." I heard Hiccup mutter. Speaking of betrayal...

I saw Merida leave the side of the dragon and went to stand beside Hiccup. She looked at Hiccup.

"So, what are you going to do about it?" She asked him, watching his face for a reaction.

Hiccup stayed silent.

I took another step forward. I stepped on a twig and it snapped, ever so quietly. I froze. Merida didn't hear me, but Hiccup and the dragon did. How did Hiccup hear me? He was further away from me than Merida, and Merida had a hunter's ear.

The dragon growled and crouched, it began to advance toward me and I raised my staff, prepared for a fight. Hiccup leaped between me and the dragon.

"No!" He cried. "Don't hurt him!"

He held a hand on the snout of the dragon while his body turned, facing me.

"Toothless, easy." He told the dragon. He took his hand off the dragon and took a step towards me.

"Don't move." I growled.

"It's fine, Jack. Toothless isn't going to hurt anyone. Right Toothless?" Hiccup said through clenched teeth at the dragon. The dragon snorted and sat down on it's haunches, still giving me a death glare.

I readjusted my grip on my staff. "I wasn't talking to the dragon."

**Rapunzel POV**

I stood on the edge of the forest, nervously twining my hands through my braid. It's been more than twenty minutes and there was still no sign of my friends. Should I go get Prof. North? What should I do? What if they were hurt?

I looked deep into the shadowy forest once more. Despite my thoughts, my feet began pulling me into the forest. I gripped my wand with a white knuckled hand. How had an innocent day of flying turn into such a catastrophe?

"Come on, Rapunzel." I told myself. "Your friends are in trouble."

I walked through the forest, following no specific direction, only knowing my friends were somewhere in there and I needed to find them. I walked for ten more minutes, looking for the familiar sight of my friends. I could hear light voices up ahead muffled by the dense foliage, and one of them sounded very familiar.

I began walking faster towards the sound of the voices, searching for a path of any sorts to follow. I passed a small clearing, where several trees were completely destroyed. I examined the clearing with morbid curiosity. What could have caused such destruction? The sight only encouraged me to walk faster towards the voices.

Finally, I came across a cove and from the other side of the beautiful scenery, I could hear my friends. I ran to the other side and saw Jack, pointing a staff at something.

"I wasn't talking to the dragon." I heard him say.

"Jack-" I heard Hiccup say.

"Don't. Move. Haddock." Jack growled. The tone of Jacks voice was so un-Jack like that I was taken aback.

"Jack?" I asked, gently. Jack's head whipped around to face me.

"Rapunzel, what are you-" He began.

"Jack, what's going on?" I asked him. Now that I had reached the cove, I could see the whole scene before me. I saw Merida off to the side, shocked. Hiccup stood protectively in front of a large black dragon.

"What's happening?" I asked.

"You weren't-" Jack began.

"Supposed to see this?" Merida cut him off. She walked over to Hiccup and stood in front of him.

"Merida, don't-" Hiccup began.

"Shut it, Hiccup. I'm trying to save your sorry Viking butt." She snapped at him. "What do you think you're doing, Frost?" She asked.

"The dark prophecy. I had thought it was Pitch, but Hiccup-"

Jack was cut off by Merida's short laugh.

"Hiccup? A dark prophecy?" Merida asked, incredulous. "I don't know how long you've known him, but I've known him since I was only a wee lass, and Hiccup isn't dark in any way." Merida crossed her arms. "If you want to get to him, you'll have to go through me."

"Jack..." I said. He looked to me, his face contorted into several different emotions.

"He's not Jack. Not-not really. You're Jokul Frosti." I heard Hiccup say. Merida stepped aside, turning to face Hiccup.

"What are you saying?" She asked him.

"He's not Jackson Overland." He said, confident in his answer. "You're Jokul Frosti, the Guard-"

"I'm not Jokul Frosti. I'm Jack Frost." I heard Jack say, once again pointing his staff at Hiccup. "Don't get me started on who I am. You are not Hiccup Haddock, you're not who you want people to think you are."

"What? Jack, what's this got to do with-" Hiccup asked him.

"You're not even our friend, are you?" Jack asked him.

The dragon began growling and leaped forward, protectively standing in front of Merida.

"What are you guys doing?" I asked. "Please, stop."

"Not even your friend?" Hiccup asked, looking hurt. "What about you? You might not even be our friend, you're undercover for the Guardians."

Jack gripped his staff even tighter, and stood in a defensive stance. "You possess dark magic, powers that rival the Guardians themselves. You're a threat to the children and the students at this school. You are dangerous and you being here is only going to hurt someone. Not only that, but I'll bet my staff you're an animagus as well."

Hiccup pursed his lips and backed away. His face darkened as he went over to calm Toothless. He looked confused, and hurt, and so lost...

"C'mon bud, time to go." Hiccup said to the dragon. He waved a hand at the dragon and the bright red contraption attached to the dragon's tail fluttered. The dragon crooned and looked up at him.

"What are you doing, Hiccup?" Merida asked him.

Hiccup stayed silent. Instead he went over to a tree and reached up, into the branches. He brought down a large leather contraption and attached it to the dragons back.

"Hiccup, tell me what you are doing." Merida demanded.

"I have to go, Mer." Hiccup muttered to her. "You heard Jack, I'm a threat to the students." He paused. "I don't-I don't want to hurt anyone."

"You're not hurting anyone, Hiccup." Merida said. "You can't- you can't just leave! You can't leave me-us."

"I have some...things I need to sort out, and there's just so much going on-" Hiccup said weakly.

"Hiccup, don't leave!" I called. I stepped closer, crossing the premises of the cove.

Hiccup mounted his dragon. He looked down on Merida. "Goodbye...Merida. Bye Punzie. I'm sorry." He said, looking down. It looked like this decision had physically pained him, as it felt to me right now.

With a single tap on the dragons head, they disappeared from view, shooting into the sky, an unknown blur of black among the clouds.

There was a silence while Merida stood, completely still, staring at the spot where Hiccup had just left. Suddenly she turned around and began stalking towards Jack. I stepped forwards, worried for him despite all he had done.

"What did you do?" Merida yelled. She turned and ran, out of the clearing, away from the cove.

Jack turned to me and began to speak.

"No, Jack." I told him quietly. "Don't bother."

I turned and followed after Merida.

"I didn't mean to..." I heard Jack whisper behind me. My heart did a horrible twist in my chest, and I nearly broke down at that moment.

I didn't look back, I just ran after Merida, swiping small tears from my face.


	19. Chapter 19

The Guardians spent months searching for the elusive duo that had fled the Forbidden Forest that frigid November day. From there on, they were considered enemy no. 1 among the Guardians and the Ministry. Reports of a large dragon attacking one of the students had spread through the school like wildfire, frightening first years and intriguing seventh years. Rumors that the mysterious dragon had eaten Hiccup were common, as he wasn't seen again by the students for a year. Merida spent months quietly mourning the loss of her lose friend, whom she couldn't help but think about often. Rapunzel threw herself into her classes, determined that her schoolwork would help keep her mind off of her missing friend. Jack spent this year working alongside the Guardians, no longer undercover as a student, determined to right his wrongs and convince himself, and his friends that what he was doing was right.

It wasn't until late that March, a whole year later, that things began looking up for the Big Four.

It wasn't until late that March that new enemies arose, even more dangerous than what they were all prepared for.

The Guardians.

The Big Four.

The One of the Old Norse Scroll.

None of them had any idea what was coming for them.


	20. Part 2 (Chapter 20)

**Hello readers! So, about last chapter, that was a bit of a prologue for the second part of this story. I will definitely be continuing this story until I deem it fit to end, so have no fear! I would never abandon this story, especially since it's my first. Look at how many reviews this story has! We're so close to 100! Less than 40 to go, you think we can make it before summer ends? Leave a review if you think you know who was narrating that last chapter. Enjoy, and mind the time skip...**

**Hiccup POV**

_**March, 1 Year Later**_

I towered over Toothless in my draconic form, tired after this mornings flight. I had decided to race him that morning, and had beaten him. It had been close, as my body was built more for flight than his, but I had less practice. Toothless had had a lifetime to become a better flyer, I've had only a year.

I transformed back into my human form, barely blinking an eye. It was second nature to me now, and I hardly had to think at all when transforming. I had discovered that my magic had become a lot stronger as well, probably having something to do with the strong magic dragons possessed. They were powerful creatures, but not all that power came from themselves, there was a lot of magical help to go along with it.

"So, bud. What do you want to do today?" I asked him. Toothless opened one eye and stared up at me from where he lay, sunbathing on the ground. He warbled softly before closing his eye again and turning his back on me.

"We're not sleeping all day, if that's what you were planning on doing." I told him. I nudged him with my left foot. "Come on, you useless reptile."

Toothless groaned but reluctantly stood up.

"Good. You ready to eat?" I asked him. Toothless's ears perked up at the mention of food. I smiled. "Magic or hunting?" I asked him.

Toothless leaped forward and pounced on some imaginary animal.

"Hunting it is." I hopped onto his back. "We can find some fish by the stream. Let's go." Toothless crouched and leaped into the air.

**Merida POV**

I sat in 6th year Herbology class, potting difficult little plants called Venenosa. My arms were covered up to the elbows with thick, dragon hide gloves. The young Venenosa were highly poisonous and could paralyze a grown man with only a single barb.

"These things are nasty little beastie's." I scrunched up my face in disgust as I replanted mine. It twisted and writhed in my grasp, trying to sting me with it's tiny little vines.

"They're not too bad Merida. Just a little cranky." Punzie said, already done replanting hers.

"Says you. I swear everything in this castle hates me." I jammed my plant into the clay pot sitting on the table in front of me. I covered it completely in dirt, leaving only it's ugly little head sticking out. I brushed my hands off then removed the gloves. I picked my pot up and went to go hand it in to Professor Viriditas.

"Very good, Merida." She said kindly. "You can go now. I believe Gryffindor's have a free period, yes?"

I nodded and smiled at her. I stepped out of the greenhouse, with Punzie following behind me closely. Ever since Hiccup had left, Punzie and I became nearly inseparable. Every spare second we each had, would be spent together. We hardly saw Jack anymore.

"So, Punzie" I said to her. "What do you have next?" I asked her.

Punzie sighed. "I have potions with Hufflepuff."

I winced. "Well, have...fun with Pitch."

Punzie didn't look very happy about it. "Yeah, I should probably get going."

I waved at her and gave a small grin. "Good luck."

Punzie turned and left, returning back to the school. I sighed and turned around, facing the Forbidden Forest. Every spare period I had alone, I went in to the forest, searching. I didn't know what exactly I was looking for, I just...searched. Could I still possibly be looking for signs of-

No. I simply enjoyed the peace and quiet. That was it.

I walked into the dense tree line, welcoming the muffling presence the cool shadows offered. I found the cove that Hiccup had been hiding his dragon in, the path to the large clearing engraved deep into my mind. I don't know why I kept coming here, considering all it did was bring up bad memories. Perhaps I found it slightly comforting, knowing that this was the last place Hiccup was seen.

We had been so close. Over the past years, we had just...clicked. We fit together. He was the brainy side of our partnership, I was the athletic, brave one. I had even thought that maybe we could have been-

"No." I whispered to myself aloud. It wasn't healthy to dwell on the past, on the 'could have's' or the 'should have's.' Hiccup was gone and I had to face the fact that he wasn't coming back. It had been more than a year, it was time to get over it.

A loud crash broke me out of my sorrowful reverie, and my head snapped up.

I stood on the rock I was sitting on, stretching my neck, trying to spot what was behind the large boulder separating half of the cove. I leaped down from the rock and sprinted to said boulder. I peeked around the corner and nearly collapsed.

I saw a shadow creature.

I saw Toothless, Hiccup's dragon.

I saw Hiccup, Toothless's rider.


	21. Chapter 21

**Sorry about the cliffhanger last chapter...and not updating for 5 days. **winces** So, to make up for it, double update! I hope you enjoy.**

***Warning: Moderate amount of swearing***

**Hiccup POV**

I sat by the stream with Toothless, who pounced playfully through the water, chasing fleeting river salmon with gusto. I fiddled with the hilt of a sword I had created while on the run. With only the click of a button, I could launch a collapsible blade out of the hilt. I had enchanted the blade to catch fire with a simple, wordless spell. The hilt also contained cartridges of a simplified potion which could be sprayed as a gas. It was extremely flammable and with only a tiny spark, it would explode.

I tucked the hilt back into a holster I had attached to my specialized suit. I had created this suit for very specific reasons. It was tough and dependable, and was covered in hidden compartments carrying several different contraptions, including my wand, which I hardly used anymore. Another reason I had made this suit was because of the shadows.

The shadows were evil...things. They seemed to be attracted to Toothless and I, and enjoyed attacking random people as they followed us, mostly children. They passed through them and left them paralyzed and fearful of everything, absorbing their confidence and energy as they passed through them.

I had discovered that they couldn't physically hurt me. I wanted to believe it had something to do with my animagus being a dragon, but past experiences with shadow potions had me thinking otherwise. This suit allowed me to absorb the shadows as they passed through me. I had needed to experiment with several different materials until I finally settled on black leather.

As Toothless and I traveled around the northern world, we hunted down these 'packs' of shadows and destroyed them before they could hurt others. From what we have discovered, only two things could destroy them; my touch, and a dragon's fire. I didn't enjoy using my touch to kill them, not because it hurt me, but because of the rush of power and energy I felt after killing one. I knew it was wrong, feeding off of these shadow creatures, stealing their life forces after they had recently sucked it out of others. It was so...inhuman, so wrong. I hated it.

I hated all of it, but there was nothing I could do.

However, it seemed that this fact was unavoidable, as everywhere we went, they would appear, trying to attack us. If I was in my dragon form, it was much faster to kill them, however, while a dragon it's possible for them to hurt me. As a human, they couldn't touch me without dying, which made me practically invincible. Toothless wasn't so lucky, and there have been several close calls before. A lot of the time, I would summon a patronus to guard Toothless. Although it couldn't kill the shadows, it could create a shield with it's wings which deterred them, holding them at bay. It would always stay until Toothless was safe and sometimes refused to go even after the shadows were defeated.

I continued watching Toothless prance around the stream chasing after fleeting fish with a small smile on my face. I stood and stretched, raising my hands far above my head, when I saw a flash of darkness by the stream.

"Toothless." I said, my tone urgent. Immediately, Toothless stopped splashing around and looked around him, quietly growling. "Shadows." I whispered. I took out my sword and extended the blade.

"We need to get them, we're too close to a village to let them go." I told him. Toothless nodded.

A shadow suddenly leaped out from behind a bush. It shrieked an unearthly sound and two more leaped out of the bush snarling and crying shrilly. I lit my sword on command and suddenly, the shadows pounced. Two went after Toothless while one came towards me.

I swung upwards with my sword, slashing at the shadow. It didn't dissolve completely, meaning I hadn't dealt a killing blow. The shadow turned and raced at me. I smiled and dropped my sword arm. I held a hand out and as soon as the shadow touched my bare skin, it shrieked and dissolved completely. I felt that same rush of energy and felt ten times more awake, with unused energy stored in my core. I looked over to Toothless who was having trouble with the remaining shadow. I assumed he had killed the other one and walked closer to him.

The shadow looked around and seemed to realize all it's brethren were destroyed. I placed my sword back in it's holster on my belt, and momentarily distracted with my presence, Toothless turned to look at me. The shadow, seeing it's chance to flee, leaped into the air, and took off into the dark sky, dusk approaching quickly.

"Come on Toothless." I said. I jumped onto Toothless's back. "We've gotta catch that thing before it hurts someone else." Toothless snarled in anticipation and launched himself off the ground.

We had been flying for at least an hour, occasionally losing the trail of the shadow, only to catch up to it once it let it's guard down. You could tell when the energy it had stolen began to wear off, as it started losing altitude. Toothless beat his wings steadily in the cool March air as I sat atop his back, scanning the horizon for the familiar dark shape of the shadow. I spotted it as it flew down, into a dense forest.

"There! Come on Toothless!" I called, pointing to the monster.

Toothless landed and I jumped off his back, with a hand already on my sword hilt. I extended the blade and set it aflame. I charged at the beast who charged right back. I stabbed at the shadow which promptly dissolved the moment it hit my blade. I retracted the still flaming blade and tucked it back into it's holster.

"Point for me." I told Toothless smugly. Toothless growled slightly and rolled his eyes. "I'm now 2" I held up two fingers "points ahead of you."

I turned in a full circle, examining my surroundings much more carefully. It was a deep cove, with lots of trees and a large boulder separating us from the other side. It looked so familiar...

"No." I whispered. Toothless walked over to stand beside me. "Toothless, you remember this place?" I asked him.

Toothless cocked his head slightly before his ears perked up. He smiled his draconic grin and began rushing around excitedly, examining the cove. He reached the giant boulder separating the cove into two parts. Suddenly, he stopped moving and poked his nose past the boulder, looking like he found something interesting to sniff.

"No, Toothless." I heard a familiar feminine voice hiss. "Stop it!"

I froze. My throat became dry and my stomach twisted in excited knots. Could it be-?

"Merida?" I asked, my voicing cracking with hopefulness.

I saw Merida, who stepped out from behind the boulder with uncertain steps. She had changed over the year. A year? I nearly flinched at the revelation. Yes, I had been gone for more than a year.

Her face no longer held as much baby fat as it had, now her cheekbones were much more defined, and her jawline had become sharper. She still wore her Hogwarts uniform, just with no cloak. I met her eyes, still the same brave blue I had missed so dearly.

"Hiccup?" She asked. I nodded. "You look so...different." She whispered.

I looked down at the suit I was wearing. "Yeah, uh, it's not quite Hogwarts uniform, but-"

Merida rushed over and threw her arms around my neck, tears making her brilliant blue eyes sparkle. I hugged her back, burying my face into her neck. We stood like that for a while before Merida pulled back, examining my face. Finally, her eyes rested on mine. We stared at each other for a while, drinking the sight of the other in, before Toothless stuck his head between us and we separated awkwardly.

"Right, so." I shifted on my feet. "What's going on-"

Merida drew back a fist and punched my left shoulder, hard.

"Ow! What-" She punched me again.

"I need that, you know!" I told her.

"What the bloody hell were you thinking?!" She nearly screamed at me.

"I don't-"

"You just left us! You left me standing there in the cove with Punzie without goodbye's, nothing! Then, you disappear for a year-not just a year-a year, four months and 2 whole bloody weeks without a single word. Not a single, godforsaken word! Next thing I know, you show up here-"

"I'm sorry." I blurted.

Merida stopped, though she clenched her hands into fists.

"I'm sorry I left. It was just...so much had happened, and-"

Merida held up a hand.

I looked over to Toothless, helpless. Toothless gave me a look that said: _This is your own fault. Deal with it._

I turned back to Merida, standing a good distance away from her fists.

"What have you been doing? Why didn't you come back?" She asked.

I scratched the back of my head awkwardly and began shifting from foot to foot.

"Oh, you know. Normal stuff. Just running from the Guardians, fighting shadow monsters-"

"Shadow monsters?" She asked.

"Yeah. Nasty things, really evil. They like sucking the life out of people. Actually, the reason we're here is cause we followed one."

"You killed it though, right?" She asked looking around nervously.

"Yeah." I cast another look at Toothless, this one gloating. Toothless huffed and lay down beside Merida. I peered up at the sky. Night was approaching quickly. I looked back to Merida.

"It's nearly dark. You're probably missing dinner." I told her.

"I don't care." She said.

"But what about Rapunzel?" I asked. Merida paused.

"Punzie doesn't know you're here. I've gotta tell her-"

"No, Merida." I said, grabbing her arm. "You cannot tell a soul I am here." I told her, completely serious.

"And why not?" She asked, crossing her arms. "You've been away for a hell of a long time. I think Punzie deserves to know."

"I know. I know she does, but the very people that are hunting me down are in that castle. Well, actually, maybe not Jack. I lost him back at the pole-"

"You've seen Jack?" She asked.

I snorted. "Of course. He's been trying to catch me since November."

"Why?"

"Cause he's still convinced I'm this dark wizard and whatnot." I told her.

We stood in silence for only a moment more.

"You're not going to leave again, are you?" She asked me.

I avoided her eyes. "Merida-"

"You can't leave again, Hiccup. You have to stop running, please." She pleaded.

"Well, what am I supposed to do?" I asked her. "I can't stay here, I can't go back to Berk. The only place for me is on the run."

"Just...stay here, in the cove. Only for a few days. Please, I'll figure something out."

I sighed. I couldn't win this one and Merida knew it. "Fine. A week, maximum."

Merida nodded. "Good."

We stood there for a minute, enjoying the silence together.

"I think you should go now." I mumbled.

"Oh." She said. She turned away from me. "I'll see you tomorrow then...Viking." I could hear the teasing in her voice.

"Goodbye, your Highness." I bowed to her. I smiled and Merida left.

The forest was filled with the sounds of insects humming to life, and rustling tree branches as the wind tugged at them gently. After a few moments alone, Toothless warbled cocking his head to the side in silent question.

"I know, Toothless." I closed my eyes where I stood, rocking back on my heels. "We can't stay here."


	22. Chapter 22

I sat at Ravenclaw table, waiting for Merida to walk into the Great Hall, late as usual. I sighed. It seemed like Merida was always late these days. I looked up to the Great Halls double doors again impatiently, only to see the fiery redhead I was looking for rush inside and sit next to me.

"Sorry I'm late Punzie." She told me. "Ran into someone."

"Who did you run into? You've known everyone in this school for 6 years." I said.

"It was a first year. Recognized him from home." She said quickly. I decided to drop the topic, instead turning to a new exciting one.

"Prof. North said he has an announcement to make after evening meal." I said, thrilled.

Merida scoffed. "Last time he made an announcement after the evening meal, was when he was introducing Jack. That ended just great."

"That's not his fault." I defended him, not knowing why. "This time it should be different!" I said, turning to face her, ignoring my food. "The teachers were whispering earlier today during lunch. I kept hearing about a tournament."

"Were you eavesdropping on the teachers?" Merida asked me.

I blushed. "What? No. I just...couldn't help but to overhear them."

"That's alright Punzie, I'm proud of you." Merida took a bite of her Shepard's pie. "Do you think it could be another Flying Tournament?" She asked.

"I don't know. I hope it is. Those things are so much fun!"

We continued chatting for a while, though Merida seemed oddly distracted. Eventually, the meal ended and Prof. North stood on the speaking podium. Excited whispers spread through the hall, making the room hum with excitement.

"Alright, alright. Calm down children." Prof. North called out. The volume in the hall instantly dropped, not a single person spoke. "Professors have been talking, and we have decided to hold huge event here at Hogwarts. It is prestigious Tournament, filled with glory and danger. It is called Tri-Wizard tournament."

Immediately, whispers started to sprout up among the tables.

"Quiet!" North called. "Good. As I was saying, Tri-wizard tournament is very important, because three witch or wizard will be chosen. Triwizard tournament is extremely dangerous, and is sometimes lethal." At this, several gasps rang out across the room. "But, we are making sure that Tournament is not too lethal, so only 6th years and older are allowed to join tournament."

Cries of outrage were heard across the room, and several 5th years looked very upset.

"Calm down! For love of North Pole..." North called. "There will be special goblet we will use. It is magical goblet, no one under 6th year can enter name into cup. Be warned, once name is placed in goblet, it can not be taken back. Whoever is chosen for tournament, is not allowed to quit. It is against rules. So, we now we place goblet in Great Hall." He clapped his two, massive hands together and the Great Halls doors swept open.

Prof. Bunnymund and Prof. Sandy both carried in a large box, not quite the size of Prof. Bunnymund, but not much larger than Prof. Sandy. They opened the large box in front of the speaking podium and placed a large goblet upon the pedestal, the cup flaring to life with blue flames.

I gasped. "It's on fire!" I told Merida.

Merida rolled her eyes."It's a magical cup, what did you expect?"

Prof. North clapped his hands once again and my attention was turned back to him.

"To enter Tournament, you write name on piece of paper, and place in Goblet. In three days, we choose three people to compete. Once three students are chosen, wands will become magically attracted to goblet, and if not in Great Hall at time, magic will bring you here. Good luck!" And with that, Prof. North stepped down from the speakers podium.

**Merida POV**

"...if not in Great Hall at time, magic will bring you here. Good luck!" Prof. North stepped off the podium as an idea began whirring through my head.

Hiccup said he would only stay until the end of the week, but what if he had to stay longer? If I put his name in for the tournament, he would be forced to participate, and then he'd have to stay. Prof. North never said anything about putting someone elses name in the goblet...

I was placing the success of this idea on the fact that Hiccup would be chosen out of all the sixth and seventh years, but given his luck, even if his name wasn't in the goblet of fire he would still be chosen. I searched my book bag eagerly, searching for a quill and some parchment.

"What are you doing, Merida?" Punzie asked me.

"I'm joining the tournament, Punzie." I told her.

"But Merida, Prof. North said that it could be lethal! Why would you join the tournament if there's a chance you could die!" Punzie said, worriedly.

"Don't worry, Punzie." I told her, successfully pulling out a quill and a slip of parchment. "There's hardly a chance I'll be chosen, but if I am, I can handle myself."

Punzie remained silent, though I could see worry still lining her features. I looked up to the goblet which was crowded by many older students, each one going through the magical barrier surrounding it to place their name in the goblet of fire. Each time someone's name was placed in the cup, a cheer rang out through the crowd.

While Punzie was distracted with the cheers ringing out across the hall, I scribbled Hiccup's full name down onto the parchment. Why did his name have to be so bloody long? Finally done, I folded up the parchment and stood, clutching the piece of paper bravely.

"Wish me luck, Punzie." I told her.

"Good luck, Merida." Punzie said, a somewhat hesitant smile on her face. I knew she didn't like the idea of me participating in the tournament, but she would support me no matter what I did, even if what I did may or may not be the right thing to do.

I walked over to the large crowd surrounding the goblet and made my way to the front of it. I stepped past the magical barrier, and walked close to the flaming cup. I took a deep breath and placed Hiccup's name into the fiery goblet, hoping that in three days time, his name would be drawn.


	23. Chapter 23

So, this is a bit of an intro chapter, into the much anticipated Tri-wizard tournament section of this story. So, next chapter, be prepared for some awesomness! Hope you enjoy.

_3 Days Later_

_**Punzie POV**_

I entered the Great Hall with a crowd of other Ravenclaws, all of us walking over to our tables to wait excitedly for the results. The whole school was allowed to skip a period of classes, and lucky for the Gryffindors and Ravenclaws, it was Potions. I sat down at the end of Ravenclaw table, fiddling with my braid as I waited for Prof. North to call out the names of the witches and wizards who were chosen for the tournament.

After the teachers had assured Prof. North that everyone in the school, including the ghosts, were present, he stepped up to the podium. Immediately, the volume in the Great Hall dropped. We all sat on the edge of our seats, hanging on to every word Prof. North had to say.

"Welcome to choosing ceremony!" Prof. North called with enthusiasm. "Today is great day for Hogwarts. Three witch or wizard will be chosen for tournament today. They will participate in dangerous events, and winner shall be hero and win great prizes! Now, we choose!" He raised him arms with a flourish, enticing a loud cheer from the students.

Prof. North took large, thundering steps towards the goblet. The blue flame that emitted from the cup died down as he approached, then suddenly it flared up again, launching a small slip of paper into the air. The small piece of paper fluttered through the air and landed daintily in the palm of Prof. North's hand.

Professor North held the small piece of parchment with two hands, taking his time before announcing the name.

"Who is it?" Someone from Slytherin table called out. Several other students cheered, anxious to hear the results. Prof. North looked up from the paper and smiled.

"Sean Trelliem!" He called. The Hufflepuff table exploded with sound as they all cheered on their fellow housemate. I turned to look at the Hufflepuff table, to see Sean stand up, clutching his wand with two hands as it began pulling him towards the cup. Sean had to run to keep up with his wand, otherwise it would begin dragging him towards the goblet.

A few laughs sprang up among the crowd while the Hufflepuffs continued applauding Trelliem. Sean walked up to Prof. North who shook his hand with vigor. Both had large smiles plastered on their faces. Prof. North gestured to a door that led to another room in the back of the hall.

Prof. North stepped towards the goblet once Trelliem left the room. The Great Hall once again fell under a harsh silence. Prof. North waved his hand and the flame of the goblet burned brighter, before spitting another name out. The parchment swirled through the air for a moment before finally settling on the large palm of Prof. North's hand. Prof. North read the name and smiled.

"Amélie Declan Dupoint!" He called, his Russian accent somewhat distorting the french name.

From Slytherin table came an explosion of noise, even louder than the Hufflepuffs had been. Amélie stood from her spot at her table and ran up to the goblet, her wand pulling her along quickly. Dupoint reached the the front of the hall and the Slytherin's continued hollering even after she disappeared behind the doors leading to the separate room.

"Settle down!" Prof. North called out. "It is time for final competitor!" Prof. North stepped towards the goblet, this time it burned brighter than ever before. A piece of parchment flew out of the goblet, it floated high in the air, seeming to take an eternity to float back down into the hand of Prof. North.

Prof. North unfolded the piece of parchment and read the name. His brow furrowed and nobody moved, not a single word was uttered. The whole room seemed to hold their breath.

"It can not be." Prof. North muttered.

"What is it North?" Prof. Bunnymund asked.

"This is not possible, he is not student here." Prof. North muttered again.

"Who is it?" Prof. Toothiana asked, fluttering over to where Prof. Bunnymund stood next to Prof. North.

"It is..." Prof. North trailed off. "Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III."

_**Hiccup POV**_

I landed in the cove with Toothless. We had just returned from our afternoon flight and had ran into three other shadows while in the air.

"Well, we're tied again, bud." I told him. "Though, to be fair we both collaborated on that one shadow..."

Toothless snorted and hit me on the back of the head with his tailfin.

"Ok, fine. We're tied." I raised my hands in mock surrender.

Suddenly, I felt a slight tugging on my right shoulder, right where the compartment that held my wand was kept.

"What's that?" I muttered to myself.

The tugging persisted and I tried to take a step towards Toothless when the tugging became far more insistent. It began pulling me away from Toothless.

"What the-? Toothless, help!" I called. Something was attracting my wand, which was locked in a pocket on my shoulder. I was being dragged slowly across the cove's floor.

Toothless bounded over and grabbed hold of my right boot. He began tugging on it, trying to keep me grounded. I fumbled with the compartment that my wand was in, trying to unlock it and get my wand out.

"Ow!" I said. The wand was pulling even harder than Toothless was, and it felt like they were playing tug of war with me. "Toothless, let go!" I told him

Toothless growled and refused to let go.

"Stay here, okay? Don't follow me. Now let go!" I said. "Before you dislocate my shoulder."

Toothless reluctantly let go of my boot, and instantly I was dragged across the ground, being pulled in the direction of the castle. I could hear Toothless whining from behind me, but he stayed where he was. I tried to resist by digging my heels into the dirt and continuously struggled with the compartment. Unfortunately, my prosthetic offered no purchase against the soft forest floor and I was dragged through several painful tree branches.

In a matter of minutes, I reached Hogwarts grounds. My wand kept pulling me towards the stone walls of the castle. I began to panic, and tried using an Alohamara charm against the compartment. Something magical was working against it as nothing happened. Just as I was sure I was going to be rammed into the castle's stone walls, my wand tugged slightly upwards and instead I crashed through the glass windows.

I gasped as I was tossed through the air, my face garnering a scratch or two from flying shards of glass. I heard several screams as I landed on the hard stone floor of the Great Hall, getting the air knocked out of me. Once I caught my breath, I stood and finally opened the compartment holding my wand. I threw the thing down onto the ground in disgust. Then I looked up, seeing several hundred pairs of eyes staring up at me, the ones in the front rows had arms still up, trying to protect themselves from the broken glass.

I turned around and came face to face with headmaster North, who looked just as shocked as I did.


	24. Chapter 24

**Glad you all liked the cliffhanger last chapter, and thanks for all the reviews. We are so close to 100! If we manage to reach 100 reviews within this month, I'll do a whopping triple update, because you're all so wonderful. Hope you enjoy!**

_**Hiccup POV**_

"Woah!" I shouted, fumbling around for my sword hilt. I grasped it and held it out, not yet extending the blade.

I heard several gasps behind me and I backed up, not yet setting the blade aflame. I eyed the Guardians all standing around me, each giving me their own version of a death glare. I saw Prof. Bunnymund stoop down towards the ground and pick up my wand, so carelessly tossed onto the marble floor.

"What's-" I started.

"Get him!" Prof. Bunnymund yelled, before I could finish asking my question.

Instantly, I had two spells shot at my head and a 300 pound man launching himself at me. I jumped back. By instinct, I grasped the hilt of my blade and it extended, my sword catching fire in the process. I swung it forward, trying to warn the others to stay back without hurting anyone.

"Hiccup!" I hear Merida call from behind me.

"Little busy, Merida!" I called, ducking yet another spell launched at my head. I launched my own spell at Bunnymund, who threw a boomerang at me. I incinerated the boomerang effortlessly and leaped up, onto the teachers table, frightening an old Prof. Viriditas who spilt her tea all over the fine tablecloth I now stood on.

"Stop!" I heard Merida yell. She ran up from Gryffindor table and stood between me and the Guardians.

"Merida, I suggest you move before-" I began.

"Shut it, fishbone." She told me before turning to face the Guardians. "What are you doing?" She asked.

I put the flames on my sword out and summoned my wand. It flew from Bunnymund's paws and into my hands. I placed into the pocket on my shoulder while staring accusingly at the Guardians. I swiped a hand across my bleeding cheek, smearing the blood across my face.

"Move over, Ms. DunBroch" Prof. Bunnymund said to her. "We've got business with him."

"Well, if you have business with Hiccup, then you have business with me." She said, firmly.

"Standing right here." I said. Everyone turned to glare at me. "I don't know why I'm here, so I'll just-" I pointed to the broken window and made a move to exit the room.

"No." North said. "You will not go anywhere."

"Why? So you guys can arrest me or something?" I asked. The blade of my sword began glowing red, ready to burst into flames if something happened. "I didn't want to come back. I came here chasing a...hippogryf, when my wand went berserk and pulled me through that window."

"You are dangerous person, and threat to children at school." I was suddenly reminded we had an audience. I eyed the shocked faces and wide eyes staring at the scene before them. "We can not let dark wizard go-"

My head snapped back to the teachers.

"Dark wizard?" I asked. "What are you talking about? If this is about the whole dark prophecy thing-"

"There is no 'dark prophecy thing'. " North said.

I heard the creak of a door open and saw the back door to the Great Hall open hesitantly. I raised my sword a little higher, ready for another fight if one broke out. Instead, a short, stout man walked into the room and froze upon seeing the sight before him.

"Oh my." He muttered.

I could imagine what he was thinking right now. Walking in to see a bloody teenager standing on the teachers table with a glowing sword, while a fiery redhead tried to defend him from several angry teachers standing on pieces of broken glass. It was quite the sight to behold, and I couldn't blame him for staring.

North suddenly stood up straighter and lowered his wand.

"Oh, hello Minister." He said.

"Minister...?" I muttered.

The rest of the Guardians turned to look at the Minister of Magic, standing bewildered in the doorway.

"What is going on?" He asked.

I retracted the blade of my sword silently and placed it back in it's holster. I leapt off the table and went to stand beside Merida.

"Professor North." The Minister said. "What is happening here?"

"Oh, well we have caught the one of the...old Norse scroll." Professor North said, rather reluctantly, like it was a secret.

"Well, what about the third champion?" The Minister asked.

"Oh, yes. Well...he is also third champion."

I took a cautious step forward and no one seemed to notice. I began walking slowly towards the broken window while everyone remained distracted by the arrival of the Minister. Unfortunately, pieces of glass still covered the ground, and I had forgotten to switch my prosthetic over into walking mode, so I lost purchase on the marble floor, which sent me falling onto my back.

Everyone in the Hall whipped around to face me, and I struggled to stand without slicing my hands open on the shards of glass. Bunnymund walked closer to me, ready to grab me before I could run. I stood and held my now-bleeding hands out protectively. Bunnymund chuckled as he pulled out a boomerang.

"Don't try me Kangaroo." I said, knowing he hated the nickname Jack had given him long ago.

"I'm a bunny." He growled at me, before raising an arm up to throw a boomerang.

"Wait!" I heard Merida shout. "You can't hurt him!" She said.

The Guardians paused, but Bunny didn't lower his weapons.

"Hiccup is the third wizard, so he has to participate in the tournament. You can't hurt him until the tournament is over." She crossed her arms in defiance, obviously having thought through this.

"What tournament are you all talking about?" I asked.

"Triwizard tournament." North rumbled.

I blanched. "You mean the deadly one we stopped participating in years ago?"

"Yes. That one." North said.

"Great."

"You are third wizard. But you can not participate, you are not student here." North crossed his thick arms across his protruding stomach.

"Did you ever expel me?" I asked.

North paused, then frowned. "No. You had left school already."

"Then, technically he's still a student here." Merida said. "The rules are, whoever is chosen from the goblet, has to participate whether they want to or not."

The Guardians all shared looks before reluctantly putting their weapons away. Nobody looked very happy, nobody but Merida.

I lowered my hands slowly.

"So, I have to participate, whether I want to or not?" I asked.

"Yes." Several voices said.

"Great. Just great." I sighed. What about Toothless? I had told him to stay in the cove, and now I was about to be whisked off to who knows where to compete in a deadly tournament. "The gods really do hate me."

"Congratulations, my boy!" The Minister suddenly called. "Let's have a big cheer for the third and final champion!" He called out to the Great Hall. Silence met him.

"Alright. Come now." The Minister mumbled, hustling me along towards the doorway he had come through. "Time to meet your fellow competitors..."

I stepped forwards reluctantly, with Bunnymund still glaring at me. The Minister placed a hand on my shoulder and I flinched away from his touch. I shot a look at Merida who refused to meet my eyes. I'd have to talk to her later. I had a feeling she was responsible for part of this...

The Minister continued pushing me past all the teachers, each of them glaring back at me in turn. I vaguely wondered how I had gone from being the best student in Hogwarts to the Guardians' number 1 wanted criminal in a matter of months. There was only one viable answer.

I was just that talented.

I was shown the door that the Minister had entered through. I took large steps through the doorway, my uneven footsteps ringing throughout the dead silent hall. I cast a final, grim look before slipping through the doorway, entering a room I hadn't known existed until now. All the while, a single thought whirred through my mind.

What now?


	25. Chapter 25

**Look at how close we are to a hundred reviews! You guys absolutely are the best, so thank you for reviewing. Lot's of POV changes in this chapter, however short each one is. Enjoy!**

_**Jack POV**_

I flew through the cold winter air, the feeling of flight reinvigorating me. I had been searching for Hiccup for days. Ever since he had managed to evade me back at the North Pole, I hadn't been able to find him. He and his dragon were just too darn elusive, especially at night.

I waved my staff over a small town in the north. It began snowing large, clumpy snowflakes, perfectly made for snowball fights. I smiled at the children poking their heads out their windows, pointing at the snow falling from the sky.

I needed to return to the Guardians, to report what I have seen over the past few months, and about who I haven't seen these past few days.

"Come on wind, take me to Hogwarts!" I called out, letting the wind pull me away from the town, heading west towards the worlds best school of witchcraft and wizardry.

_**Punzie POV**_

I sat, shocked in my seat, unable to move, even breath. I took in the sight before me. The Guardians all stood silently for a moment after Hiccup had disappeared through the door, before North finally straightened up and addressed the crowd.

"All students return to dorms. Classes dismissed for rest of day." He said. The students didn't move. Prof. North sighed and looked towards the teachers still seated at the teachers table. "Escort students back to dorm."

Slowly, the teachers stood, as did the students. I stayed seated, the events of the past hour still reeling in my mind. How had this happened? Hiccup was back and the teachers were after him for some reason. Where had he gone? When did he get back? Why was he chosen for the Triwizard tournament? How was he chosen for the Triwizard tournament?

I struggled to think my way through all the questions clouding my mind. Merida walked over to where I sat. She put a hand gently on my shoulder. I stood up, not noticing anything around me until we reached the Gryffindor common room.

''Did you know?" I asked Merida quietly. We walked through the doorway into the common room and sat down in front of the fire burning in the hearth.

"Yeah.'' Merida sighed. "He got here three days ago. He made me promise not to tell a soul, Punzie. I'm sorry."

I nodded. "How was he chosen to be in the tournament? He wasn't here to put his name into the goblet. It doesn't make any sense."

Merida winced. "I may have put his name into the goblet."

I looked to Merida, mouth agape. "You put his name into the goblet of fire?"

"Yes." Merida sighed and leaned back in her chair. "I thought that if he was chosen to do the tournament, he would have to stay longer and we could convince him not to leave again."

We sat in silence for a while. "I wonder how that's going."

_**Hiccup POV**_

"How did you get your name into the goblet?" Bunnymund questioned me.

"I don't know!" I said for the umpteenth time. "I didn't even know there was a tournament!"

"Then you had someone on inside. There must have been someone who put name in." North said, arms crossed across his large middle.

I paused. Merida. Of course it had been Merida. Who else would have been brave and foolhardy enough to accomplish such a feat?

"I don't know." I said again, though my answer sounded weak.

The Minister walked forward. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but we have a schedule we need to attend." He said.

Prof. North stepped back, though he kept his hard gaze trained on me.

"We are not finished." North warned.

All the Guardians glared at me, with Prof. Sandy giving me the biggest glare I've ever seen from someone so...vertically challenged. He stood silently in the corner of the room, his hard gaze trained on my face. I found it uncomfortable, and squirmed under the scrutinizing gaze of each teacher looming over me.

"Great." The Minister said. "So, first, we will be inspecting your tools of choice for the tournament."

"Tools of choice?" The girl sitting beside me asked. I think her name was Emily.

"Ah, yes. We will be inspecting your wands to make sure they are performing properly."

"What if you don't use a wand?" I asked.

Everyone turned to look at me.

"Well, if you don't use your wand then how do you cast spells?" The Hufflepuff boy asked.

"I don't need a wand to use magic. Can I use my sword?" I asked.

"You don't need a wand to use magic?" The Minister asked. I shook my head. "Then what do you use?"

"Uh...my hands?" I said. I shifted uncomfortably in my chair.

"Remarkable." The Minister said under his breath. "Well, if you don't need your wand to use magic, then I suppose you could use your sword."

I nodded silently.

"Alright. Over here is Mr. Quimby." The Minister gestured to a dark skinned man, who sat on a deep blue armchair. He looked tall, and his arms were corded ith muscle. Though he looked like he could split a log open with his bare hands, his eyes were a rich brown. Deep and gentle, they held kindness and wisdom.

"He will be inspecting your weapons. We also have our reporter here, Mrs. Bonner. She will be documenting the entire Triwizard tournament."

"Hello children." Mrs. Bonner said. She gave a small wave of her hand, adorned with several jelwelled rings. She wore a frilly pink blouse, as apposed to Mr. Quimby who wore a simple shirt with formal dress pants. "Alright, why don't we get started then." She said. Her voice was high-pitched and very upbeat.

"Amélie Declan Dupoint, you are up first." The Minister said, reading the names off of a piece of parchment.

The girl sitting beside me stood, and held her wand out to Mr. Quimby. It was a light brown colour, and had small vines carved into the sides that wove up the shaft. It was a beautiful wand, and obviously well taken care of. I thought of my own wand, with scorch marks and pieces missing from years of spells going awry. Hers made mine look like a twig someone found in the forest.

"Hmmm..." Mr. Quimby said, his deep voice resounding through the room."You have kept this wand in very good condition, Amélie. Very good job. Your wand is indeed, fit for the tournament."

Amélie flashed a quick smile and graciously took her wand back. She sat back down in her seat beside me, still grinning. She obviously prided herself with this small accomplishment, no matter how meaningless it actually was.

"What does this say here... Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III?" The Minister said. He frowned slightly at the parchment he was holding, which obviously held my full name. You would have he'd done his research well enough to know my first name. I was 'the one of the old Norse scroll' after all, you'd think he'd know the full name of the Guardians biggest threat.

I stood up and took the hilt of my sword out of it's holster on my hip. I turned it over and handed it to Mr. Quimby , who held the thing gingerly. We examined it quietly, his fingers gliding across the fine metalwork smoothly. He was obviously a fine worksman himself, as his eyes scanned it with an inventors mind.

"You press the button here to extend the blade. Do the same thing again to retract it." I explained.

Mr. Quimby nodded slightly and continued inspecting the hilt. He extended the blade and it shot out with rapid precision.

"I can't help but notice, that there is no magical properties about this sword." Mr. Quimby said. "So how does it retract on it's own?"

"I made it myself." I told him, unable to keep the small hint o pride out of my voice."I used engineering instead of magic so that if it were hit by a spell, nothing would happen to it's retractable blade."

"You made this yourself?" Mr. Quimby asked.

I nodded. "I was the blacksmith's apprentice. I had free run of the smithy."

Mr. Quimby nodded and continued examining the blade. "I've heard that it can sustain fire as well."

"Uh, yes. That's kinda my fault." I stated, feeling slightly abashed. "Sometimes it catches fire when I'm fighting with it."

Mr. Quimby nodded again and finally retracted the blade. He gave me the hilt of my sword back and I tucked it gratefully back into it's holster. I turned and went to sit back down in the hard wooden chair placed in between Amélie and the Hufflepuff boy. They both looked at me, Amélie with barely hidden jealousy and the Hufflepuff with muted curiosity.

"Alright. Sean Trelliem, your turn." The Minister said.

I looked over to the right, and saw Mrs. Bonner speaking to a quill moving on it's own. It wrote words down onto the page quickly, and with a frivolous passion I wouldn't have thought a quill capable of having. I watched it carefully, and noted that it only scribbled something frantically on the page when Mrs. Bonner ordered it to. I recognized this simple charm, I had used it more than once during my time here as a student.

"Your wand is not in the best condition, my boy." I heard Mr. Quimby rumble. I saw Sean blush lightly. "It looks like it went through a wood chipper." Mr. Quimby noted, raising a questioning eyebrow at the nervous boy. "However, it is still in well enough condition for the tournament. It will do."

Sean took his wand and hurriedly sat back down in his chair, face slightly red.

"Very good. Well, now that your weapons of choice have been approved, we can begin the interviews." The Minister said.

"Interviews?" Amélie asked. "You never said anything about interviews."

Mrs. Bonner laughed. "Of course there are interviews, dearie! Why, all of yours are going to be the feature of this weeks daily paper!"

I groaned. This was going to be a very long day.


	26. Chapter 26

**Yet another Hiccup POV, but there is a lot going on right now that requires his point of view, so this was necessary. Only 12 reviews to go! I know we didn't make the end of the month goal, but if we can reach 100, I'll do a double update instead. Enjoy!**

_**Hiccup POV**_

"So, Hiccup." Mrs. Bonner said.

She had insisted we stay where we were, in the back room of the Great Hall during the interviews. Amélie had already been interviewed, and Sean was after me. I sat in my uncomfortable wood chair while everyone stared at me. Mrs. Bonner continued her interview, paying no heed to the deadly glares being thrown across the room at the moment.

"Where are you from?" She asked.

"Berk." I said simply.

"And where is Berk?" She leaned forward, and it looked almost uncomfortable.

"It's twelve days north of Hopeless, a few degrees south of Freezing to Death and is located solidly on the Meridian of Misery." I said.

Mrs. Bonner looked slightly confused. She had no idea I was being completely serious.

"Sounds...nice." She said.

"It is, for a polar bear." I nodded.

There was a small silence during which only the scratch of the quill on parchment to be heard. Mrs. Bonner looked at the quill and whispered to it.

"No, no. Don't write that!" She told it. The quill stopped moving and crossed something out. Mrs. Bonner took a moment to compose herself before plastering another smile on her face and continued asking questions.

"What's your family like?" She asked.

I grew uncomfortable. Family was a very...touchy subject.

"I don't know. I guess...they're...family." I said.

"Do you have any siblings?"

I shook my head.

"Your parents?" She asked, looking desperate for a solid answer.

"Stoick the Vast, chief of Berk, my dad. My mom...died when I was younger. I'm an only child." I told her, sticking to the bare minimum of required information.

"Interesting..." She said. "So your father is chief of Berk? Does this mean you're next in line to become chief?"

I hesitated. "Yes."

"You hesitated." She said.

"Uh, no. No I didn't."

"Come now, Hiccup. Just be honest with us, it's only a newspaper article." Mrs. Bonner pleaded.

I sighed. "Something happened this summer." I tapped my prosthetic idly against the ground, not caring to specify _what_ exactly happened this summer. "My cousin, Snotlout, is more likely to become chief of Berk. He's a proper Viking, who the villagers have wanted to be chief for a while."

"Viking?" I heard Amélie mutter behind me.

I ignored her and continued looking at Mrs. Bonner, not allowing any sign of pain and regret flash across my face.

"If you don't mind me asking, what happened to your foot?" She asked.

"Uh, yes. It's missing." I said, and was reminded of a year ago, when I had said the exact same thing to Merida. The reaction, however was much different, and far less violent. Still, I could see a spark of frustration in Mrs. Bonner's eyes, and knew that I had begun to wear on her patience.

"I meant, how did you lose it?" She said, her voice slightly lilted, barely restraining the threat she clearly wished to utter.

I paused, thinking. "I don't actually know. I woke up in my village's infirmary after a...battle and it just, wasn't there. My friend made the prototype prosthetic that this one was based on." I lied, gritting my teeth once I finished.

"And who made that one?" She asked.

"I did." I told her.

"You made your own fake foot?" I heard Sean ask behind me.

"Yes? Why?" I turned to face him.

"Alright, why don't we move on to something that interests you." Mrs. Bonner said. "What are your hobbies?"

Reluctantly I turned back around to face Mrs. Bonner.

"I don't really have any hobbies, unless you include inventing." I paused. "Does it still count if half the inventions don't work?"

"Of course it does." Mrs. Bonner placated me, a forced smile playing on her lips. "What about friends? Anyone special back home?" She asked.

I blushed slightly and decided to ignore her second question. "I never really had friends on Berk. I do have a few close friends at Hogwarts."

"And who are they?" She asked.

"Merida DunBroch, Rapunzel Corona, Jack Frost." I said, before I could stop myself. Did I still consider Jack my friend? After all that happened? Could I really trust him the way I used to? Yet...deep down, I knew I had already forgiven him for what he had done, and deep down, I knew I still considered him a friend, no matter how tense the situation between us was.

"I see. Royalty." She mumbled something to the quill, which continued scribbling rapidly across the long roll of parchment. "Are you...close with either of these girls?" She asked.

I turned red. "Not-not really."

"I bet many ladies out there are happy to hear that." Mrs. Bonner winked at me and I grew uncomfortably hot.

"Are we-are we almost done here?" I asked, ready to leave, shifting in my seat. I was ready to leave since this interview started, and now the urge to run was only intensified.

"One more question, not to worry. So, tell me, do you have any special abilities that could help you during the tournament, anything special about you that gives you an edge over these two?"

I paused. The obvious answer was yes. I could transform into a powerful never before seen dragon and perform wordless magic without a wand. Did that count as an advantage?

"I'm really good on a broom." I said lamely. "And I can use a sword." I added.

Mrs. Bonner nodded. She didn't appear overly happy with the results of this interview and looked like she wanted to stay and ask more questions. I, on the other hand, couldn't wait to leave this room.

"Well, that was...a good interview." Mrs. Bonner said through a forced smile. "Thank you for your time, Hiccup. I'll see you at the first trial for before and after interviews." She shook my hand with a tight grip. I nearly sighed in relief, ready to finally leave this place.

I stood from my chair when Prof. North placed a hand on my shoulder, forcing me to sit back down.

"Where do you think you're going?" Bunnymund asked, arms crossed over his furry chest.

"To go catch up with Merida and Rapunzel." I lied.

North and I had a silent staring contest. I had been staring down evil shadow beasts for months, there was no way North was beating me at this one. Eventually, North dropped his harsh gaze an lifted his hand off my shoulder. He crossed his own arms over his chest and glared down at me, his bright blue eyes glinting with warning.

"You can stay in old dorm room. You can not leave school grounds, magic of tournament." He grunted. "And if you hurt single student, I choose to ignore rules." He said, the threat evident in his voice.

"Of course." I said. I stood and practically ran out of the room.


	27. Chapter 27

**You guys are great, honestly. I'm so happy you guys get so involved in my story, it makes me feel amazing! And the reviews just continue to pour in...it's great. So, in case you guys haven't picked up on it before, yes this is going to be Merricup and Jackunzel fanfic. I'm going to try and incorporate them both in slowly, but I'm going to focus on one at a time for a while, build each one up over time. So, I really hope you enjoy this next chapter.**

**Thanks again, you guys are seriously, so awesome! Enjoy!**

Punzie and I sat in the Gryffindor common room, working on some extra hard charms homework Prof. Toothiana had given us last week.

"What's that charm called, the one that makes things invisible?" I asked Punzie.

We sat on the floor, with our books and quills lain out in front of us. Punzie lay on her front, facing the fire while I sat cross legged beside her.

"Invisibiliem." Punzie said, sounding slightly bored.

"Thanks, Punz." I sid. I quickly scribbled down the answer onto parchment.

We wrote in silence for a few minutes before we heard the creak of a door. It was late at night and we were the only ones in the common room. Our attention was brought to the door where a familiar step clunk pattern of a certain Viking was heard.

"Hiccup?" I asked. I stood suddenly, and so did Punzie.

The door swung close and in walked Hiccup. Punzie walked quickly over to Hiccup, examining his face. After a quick moment of silence, she threw her arms around his neck. Hiccup stood there awkwardly, not looking sure as to what he was supposed to do. Before he could decide how he should react, Punzie drew back, smiling.

"It is you!" She said.

"Why wouldn't it be me?" Hiccup grinned his familiar lopsided smirk.

"You just look so...different." Punzie said.

"I didn't change that much, did I?" He frowned slightly.

I looked him over once. "Well the uniforms different, your hair's a bit longer, and crazier." I added. "And you look taller."

"I didn't grow that much in just a year. I can't look that bad." He said, smiling.

"I never said you looked bad." I said.

Hiccup's eyes met mine and I smiled. He looked a little confused for a moment, before a smile lit up his face.

"I never thought I'd miss this place so much." He said wistfully.

"So you didn't miss us at all? Only school?" I asked.

Punzie laughed.

"Of course not." Hiccup said. "I was too busy living the life of a wanted criminal, being a heroic vigilante and all." He said, taking on an arrogant air.

I let out a short laugh at his obvious attempt at humor. I studied his face again. Though he was trying to appear light-hearted, I could see the wear on his face and the worry behind his eyes. I wondered yet again whether this was the right thing to do.

"So, what did the Minister want to do once you went into the back room?" Punzie asked.

"It's a long story." Hiccup sighed, the smile lighting up his face slowly faded.

I went over and sat on the arm of one of the blue sofas.

"We have tons of time, laddie. Spill it." I told him.

Punzie and Hiccup walked over to the ring of armchairs and sofa's surrounding the common room's hearth. Punzie sat in a small cordouroy armchair beside the fire. Hiccup walked over and sat on the sofa I was on.

"So what happened after the Minister took you into the room?" Punzie asked him.

"Well, first I was intterogated." Hiccup said.

"Intterogated?" Punzie asked.

Hiccup nodded. "North and Bunny kept on asking me how I got my name into the goblet, while Sandy kept shooting me dirty looks from the corner." Hiccup turned to look at me. "By the way, Merida, would you happen to know how my name ended up in the goblet of fire?"

"No idea." I said, not meeting his eyes.

"Merida?" Punzie asked.

"Fine. I did put your name into the goblet." I slipped off the sofa's armrest and stood up. "I just...you were going to leave again and-" I stopped. "I needed time to think of ways to convince you to stay, and this was the only short-notice plan I could come up with."

Hiccup sighed. "You could have just talked to me. You know, power of persuasion and such." He made little hand gestures as he spoke.

"What power of persuasion?" I asked.

"I-I don't know." Hiccup muttered. "Look, all I'm saying is that it would have been a lot easier if you had just asked me to stay and not...this."

"So you don't want to do the tournament?" Punzie asked.

"Do I want to take part in a deadly wizard tournament I was forced to participate in? Of course!" Hiccup said, sarcasm oozing off his words. "The chance of me dying makes it that much more fun."

We heard the midnight bell toll deep in the castle, signalling the act that it was midnight.

"I should probably get some sleep." Punzie said. "I'll see you guys in the morning." She said quietly. "Welcome back, Hiccup."

Hiccup nodded silently.

"Goodnight, Punzie." I said. Punzie smiled at me as she exited the common room silently, sneaking back to Ravenclaw common room. Hiccup remained silent staring at the fire. He cast a look at me.

"What about you? Don't you have lessons tomorrow?" He asked.

"I'm not tired." I told him. "How about you?" I asked.

Hiccup shook his head and sat up straighter. "I'm used to being awake at night. It's better cover for Toothless and I."

I noted the fact that his suit was black, with only a few red signs placed on his shoulders. Without thinking, I reached out and traced the red crest marking his right shoulder. It was a black dragon, a Night Fury to be exact, forming a circle with one bright red tailfin.

"What does this one mean?" I asked him quietly.

I saw Hiccup swallow. "It's my crest, I kinda made it up. I like it though, and so did Toothless."

I nodded. "What about this other one?"

"That one...is Berk's crest." He said quietly.

"Do you ever miss it?" I asked him. "Home?"

Hiccup closed his eyes. "Sometimes. Only on those long nights, being so far away from...everyone, it starts to grind on you. It gets a little lonely."

I sat down beside him, on the couch, not just the armrest.

"Are you going to stay?" I asked him quietly. I stared deep into the fire, leaning forward. Hiccup did the same, with his hands clasped in front of him while his elbows rested on his knees.

"I don't know." He replied, his voice cracking slightly. "I don't regret it, you know."

"Regret what?" I murmured.

"Being chosen, for the tournament."

"Oh." I said, simply. Where was he going with this?

"I thought that leaving would be best, for everyone. Toothless couldn't live in that forest forever, I had some other...problems going on. Then there was Jack and the Guardians." He sighed and ran a hand over his face, suddenly looking older than just 17. "If I wasn't chosen for the tournament, I probably wouldn't have stayed."

"Thank you." I said.

"For what?" He asked, sneaking a small grin my way. I couldn't help but grin myself.

"For not hating me."

Hiccup laughed suddenly and my smile grew.

"In case you haven't noticed, hate isn't exactly in my nature."

"I've noticed." I said. "Among other things." I was no longer thinking through every word I was saying, whether it was the fact I was sleep deprived, or the fact I was sitting so close to him...

"What else have you noticed?" He asked. Hiccup looked at me mischeivously.

"That you're a cheeky bastard." I told him.

Hiccup laughed loudly and I giggled myself. Wait, I giggled? What was happening?

Hiccup's hand brushed mine, ever so slightly. All of a sudden, I was wide awake, sleep no longer bothering me. I looked up and met his eyes. He still had that stupid smile plastered on his face. His deep green eyes were so interesting. A dark green with gold flecks, outlined with a soft green and brown mixture. How had I never noticed before?

Hiccup swallowed and stared back at me. He searched my eyes, and I searched his. We were close, unknowingly leaning in closer to each other. Our noses were almost touching now, and I didn't care.

"Don't leave, Hiccup." I whispered to him.

"I wouldn't dream of it." He said.

I leaned in closer, and he did too. His lips brushed mine, and he placed a hand behind my head, pulling me closer. We kissed, and a thrill ran through me. Hiccup pulled back slowly and stared deep into my eyes. We sat there, lost in the wonderful moment. We were oblivious to everything around us. Not even the crackling fire, or the sounds of crickets outside could distract us.

Suddenly, Hiccup tore his gaze from mine, turning a very bright red.

"I-I should probably-"

"Yeah." I said, my voice shaky. "Yes. Uh, I should go as well."

"I will-I'll see you tomorrow." He said, standing rather awkwardly.

"Well, goodnight, Hiccup." I said. I felt my face growing slightly hot.

"Uh, yes. Yeah, goodnight, Merida." He disappeared through the doorway, leaving me standing there alone, wondering what had happened.

"Oh Haddock, what are you doing to me?" I whispered to myself. I sat down heavily in the red armchair by the fire, touching my fingers to my soft lips that still tingled at the thought of him.


	28. Chapter 28

**100 REVIEWS! I CAN'T BELIEVE WE MADE IT! You guys are absolutely fabulous and because of your supreme awesomeness, I've decided to do the triple update. You have no idea how much this means to me. You guys are wonderful people. You have made my day. Thank you all so much. So, these three chapters are dedicated to ****_you_****. I hope you all enjoy!**

_**Jack POV**_

I entered North's office, early in the morning. Last I checked, it had been 5 am, and that had been an hour ago. The window closest to his desk swung open, blown open by the cold air that had brought me here. I walked through the small room, filled with various toys and a few miscellaneous ice sculptures. I tapped the floor with my staff and frost spiraled outwards. I grinned. It was good to be back at Hogwarts. Though I had enjoyed the adventures and the outdoors, it was nice to be back in a solid building, with people who could actually see me.

I opened the door leading out of North's office. The large oak table that sat in the middle of the room was polished to perfection, no doubt the house elves work. I didn't see any of the Guardians in the room, and the whole castle was oddly silent.

"Where is everyone?" I muttered to myself.

I walked over to the hidden entrance that hid Norths office from the rest of the castle. I stepped outside and peeked my head out of the doorway. Not a single student was in the halls, and none of the Guardians were in view. I frowned. School didn't end until June, and it was only late March.

I began walking through the hallways, searching for a familiar face, or any face at all. As I neared the corridor that led to the Gryffindor common room, I heard light, uneven footsteps. I froze. These footsteps were irregular, and fast paced.

They were also very familiar.

I turned the corner and looked down the hallway, only to see a familiar retreating figure. They took quick, measured steps and didn't pay attention to where they were going. I looked closer, and saw that this person had a prosthetic instead of a left foot.

"Haddock." I muttered under my breath.

What was he doing here? How did he even get into the school? Why after nearly a year of chasing him, did he finally appear after I gave up? It was like he was trying to find me. I should have given up months ago, it would have saved me some time. Approximately 8 months of time.

Time wasted aside, I needed to stop him, catch him while he was unaware, otherwise I doubt I could take him in such close quarters. The element of surprise was on my side, and I was planing on using it.

I walked lightly across the stone floors, my bare feet barely making a sound against the cold polished floor. As I got closer to him, I realized that he was mumbling to himself under his breath.

I continued advancing upon him, barely making any sound. I raised my staff up and prepared to freeze his feet to the ground, literally stop him in his tracks, when he spoke up, startling me.

"Whats been going on with you lately?" Hiccup asked aloud.

I froze, not moving a muscle. Hiccup turned around, and eyed me cautiously.

"Nothing much. So,what are you doing in this part of town?" I asked him, trying to sound casual. I dropped my staff and leaned against it, though not loosening my grip on it. I tried to appear casual, meanwhile my mind moved a mile a minute.

"Just visitng. A couple of stray shadows." He said. "Deadly tournaments. The usual."

I frowned slightly. Stray shadows? Deadly tournaments? How was that usual?

"You look confused, Frosti." Hiccup smirked.

I shook my head slightly and glared at him for his use of my Norse name. It was stupid, but Jokul Frosti was my ancient name, before I became Jack Frost. It held great power, something I didn't trust him with as of now. He had enough power to last him twenty lifetimes, he didn't need any more, especially when it concerned me.

"I'm just wondering where your pet salamander went." I said, smoothly covering up my irritation.

Hiccup paused. "Why do you want to know?"

"The little guy's starting to grow on me." I shrugged.

Hiccup sighed and ran a hand over his face. "What do you want Jack?" He asked.

"I could be asking you the same thing, Viking." I stood up straight and held my staff with two hands. "Why are you here?"

"I already told you. Stray shadows and a deadly tournament. Now if that's all you wanted to know I'll just be going...that way." He pointed down the corridor.

"Hold on. What deadly tournament?" I asked.

"The triwizard one." He said simply. Hiccup began turning away from me to continue walking down the corridor.

"Where are you going?" I asked him, no longer joking.

"To the Great Hall. I've had a long night." He said without looking back at me.

I tapped the heel of my staff against the ground and a thin layer of ice covered the ground in front of Hiccup, slipping him up. He fell back wards with a gasp as the air was knocked out of him. He continued wheezing for breath as I stood over him, pointing my staff at his chest.

"Don't move, Chief." I told him. "Or I freeze you solid."

"Real classy, Frost." Hiccup wheezed. Suddenly, his hand shot out and grabbed my staff. He twisted the shaft, ripping it from my hands. I felt the ancient wood wrenched from my grasp, and stumbled forwards with the abrupt motion.

"Hey!" I shouted.

He gripped it and hit me in the shins with it. I inhaled sharply and hissed in annoyance. He climbed to his feet quickly and hooked me behind my knees with my staff, using it to pull himself up off the ground while sending me tumbling down to where he was only minutes ago. I collided with the hard marble, and now it was my turn to lay winded on the polished floor.

Now Hiccup stood over me, with a grin on his face while he pointed my own staff at my chest.

"What do you know" I said. "You're-"

"Faster than I look." Hiccup finished. "I get that a lot."

I lay there on the ground, trying to form a plan while Hiccup pulled his sword hilt out of it's holster and twisted it between his nimble fingers. I frowned. Now what?

"Don't think I won't use this." Hiccup told me, suddenly looking a little anxious.

"My staff or your sword?" I asked, stalling for time.

"Why not both." He shrugged, smirking. His anxious appearance was long gone. Now it was replaced with an infuriating confidence in his actions and words. His easy stance and relaxed hold on his sword didn't assure me the slightest bit. It meant he thought he could take me on, and Hiccup was a terrible liar. If he felt he cold take me on, he could take me on.

From behind me, I heard laughing and assumed that the students were awake now, preparing to go down to the Great Hall for their morning meal. I silently cursed as I realized what that would mean. Well, this situation just got a hundred times worse.

"Jack?" I heard someone call. I looked past Hiccup's calculating look to see Rapunzel, ever the early riser, standing there with her books in hand, staring at the sight before her. She looked startled, and her innocent green eyes stared at me in shock.

"Hiccup, what are you doing?" She asked him, coming closer to us.

"Just catching up with Jack, here. Haven't seen him since the North Pole." He said, not taking his gaze off me.

I nearly winced as he mentioned the North Pole. That encounter had been rather...negative. It had only added to the bad blood that we seemed to carry around with us nowadays.

I heard more people arrive and stare at the situation concerning us. Great. Soon the whole school would be here, enjoying the show as I became ever the more humiliated, laying here on the hard ground.

"Hiccup why-"

"This is between me and Jokul, Rapunzel." Hiccup said abruptly, and I was a little shocked at his tone. Boy, had things changed.

"Jokul." I raised my eyebrows. "You mean business."

"If I didn't, would I be pointing both your staff and my sword at your face?"

"Fair enough." I muttered.

I tried to shift my gaze back over to Rapunzel, to try an comfort her.

"Don't worry, Punz." I told her, all the while paying attention to Hiccup, who looked both nonchalant and calculating all at once. "We're just sorting some things out."

Soon a crowd formed around us and I grew more desperate and uncomfortable on the floor. I searched the crowd, looking for the Guardians, wondering why they hadn't arrived yet. Searching the many faces surrounding us, I caught a glimpse of a fiery red mane, darting through the many faces of shocked students.

I decided I needed to act now, before something happened. I raised my hand up quickly, making a move to grasp my staff. Hiccup, however, saw this coming and pulled it back. He extended the blade of his sword and caught my wrist with it. He pinned my wrist to the ground and I growled with frustration. He didn't draw blood, but the point of the sword was growing uncomfortably hot against my skin.

"Why were you hunting us down, Jack?" Hiccup asked me, his voice steady. He slowly lifted the blade off my wrist and gestured for me to stand up. I did so while glaring at him furiously. "I didn't do anything to you, or the Guardians, or anyone for that matter, and yet you still chased us. Why?"

"You don't need to know." I told him.

"I think I deserve at least a hint." He deadpanned.

I paused. "The old Norse scroll." I said, hoping the odd clue would be enough to throw him off.

Hiccup paused, then nodded. Wait, did he understand what I meant? He retracted the blade of his sword and placed it back into his holster. Then, surprising me, he tossed me my staff. I gripped it tightly.

"Stop following me, Jack." He said. He turned his back to me and I so desperately wanted to freeze him, to stop him from going anywhere else. I refrained from doing so while in the presence of several shocked children surrounding us. Hiccup pushed his way through the crowd of astonished people and turned the corner.

I stared after him, feeling confused, angry and shocked. Hiccup had definitely changed over the past year, in more ways than one. I gripped my staff tighter. I needed to find the Guardians.

Things had changed indeed.


	29. Chapter 29

_**Punzie POV**_

Merida and I left the crowd that had gathered in the corridor and left to go to the Great Hall. My mind was still trying to understand what had happened in the hallway. I had found Hiccup, standing over Jack with a large stick and his sword. When Jack had resisted, Hiccup had persisted that Jack tell him. Yet, as soon as Jack answered Hiccup's question, he let him go immediately, and gave him back his weapon.

Who knew that this much could have changed in only a year.

I looked over to Merida, who had hardly said a word all morning. I was worried for my friends. It was like new secrets were appearing everywhere, and they were slowly breaking us apart. Even I had secrets, but they couldn't hurt anyone. At least, I thought so. But it looked like even the harmless little secrets we keep are coming back to haunt us, and I'm not sure if our friendship can survive this much longer under these circumstances.

I cast another worried glance at Merida, who continued staring ahead blankly as we walked toward the Great Hall. She was obviously thinking hard about something, what exactly, I don't know.

"Hey, Merida." I said, waving a hand in front of her face. Merida blinked and looked over at me.

"Sorry, Punzie. Just lost in thought..." She said.

"Don't go turning into Hiccup on me. We've got enough thinking going on on his end." I tried to joke, using the same sarcastic attitude Jack and Hiccup often used.

Merida frowned, apparently not finding my joke very funny. I sighed.

"What's wrong, Mer?" I asked her.

Merida sighed, and turned to look at me. Her bright blue eyes were wide and they looked confused. She was struggling with something, and for a brief moment I worried if it was about her family, because the look of distress in her eyes could only mean it had something to do with someone close to her heart.

"I don't know Punzie." She answered. She looked like she wanted to say more, but kept silent. Didn't she trust me? I couldn't help but feel a little hurt that she was keeping things from me, but it would make me a hypocrite if I said I wasn't hiding anything from her.

There was an awkward silence between us before I tried changing the topic.

"So, the first task is supposed to start next week. What do you think it'll be?" I asked her, knowing how excited about the tournament she was. Merida's face instantly brightened, happy to be off the previous topic.

"I bet it'll have something to do with some crazy beastie, that attacks the champions." Merida said, making a three fingered claw.

"I wonder if they'll have to do any fighting." I said. "Maybe they'll have to duel each other, or fight with weapons."

"What if they have to tame an un-tameable beast?" Merida asked, seeming to like the idea of ferocious creatures attacking the competitors.

"Or if it's a battle of the wits in some sort of brainy challenge." I supplied, finding that idea more interesting than useless violence.

By now, we were both smiling, coming up with possible tasks that got wilder and wilder every time we suggested one. We entered the Great Hall, both of us smiling and went to sit down at Gryffindor table. The Gryffindors were always more accepting of our inter-house friendship, and while they may not approve o it, they didn't discriminate. Not to say the Ravenclaws did, but hey held a certain prejudice against other houses.

Merida and I began eating and before we knew it, the owls swooped in, delivering this week's mail and newspapers. Envelopes and rolls of heavy paper rained down from above, landing on plates and several students' heads. I looked to my right and saw Merida receiving yet another green envelope. Her mother wrote to her nearly every week, and Merida always wrote back, though not always with the same enthusiasm as her mother.

I too received a letter from my parents weekly, and was always adamant about writing them back, telling them about everything I could think of at the moment. I looked up from my mail at the sound of a shrill shriek piercing the air. The room dropped in volume very quickly, and it was just quiet enough for me to hear a familiar voice chastising his huge great grey owl.

"Volr! Ow, get off!" I heard Hiccup say, rather loudly. I stood from my seat as did Merida to get a better look. Laughter spread quickly through the hall, though it died down just as fast. I walked around the table with Merida by my side, and made my way to Ravenclaw table.

"I think someone missed you, Hiccup." I told him.

Hiccup was on the floor, with his massive owl Volr circling around him, buffering him with his huge wings and leaping on him playfully.

"I thought so-ow!" Hiccup swatted playfully at his owl. "Seriously, Volr! Off!"

The noise in the Great Hall began rising again, as students continued talking to their friends and reading their post. Eventually, Volr settled down enough for Hiccup to stand and dust himself off, with Volr perched on his shoulder of course. Although Volr appeared to be a gigantic creature, his size was very deceptive. While his wingspan was now close to 50 cm, he weighed less than 3 pounds, with most of his size coming from his dense grey plumage.

Hiccup sat back down in his seat at Ravenclaw table and gestured for us to sit beside him. Volr continued ruffling through his hair and pecking at his odd suit as Hiccup offered him a piece of meat from the table.

"No, Volr. Not the suit, the bacon." I heard him mutter to the owl.

I sat down beside him, the seats surrounding him oddly vacant. Merida sat opposite to us, staying silent. Hiccup looked up from Volr and looked at Merida. The two stared at each other for a brief moment before breaking eye contact. Hiccup turned a faint shade of red and Merida fiddled with her wand.

I frowned. What was going on with these two? Merida usually couldn't stop talking, and Hiccup would almost always crack sarcastic jokes with her. Thir silence was unnerving, and seemed to fill the space between us with awkward pause.

"What's going on with you two?" I asked.

Hiccup flinched slightly and Merida's head snapped up.

"Uh, nothing." Hiccup said. "Just tired you know. Lack of sleep."

Yet again, we lapsed into uncomfortable silence.

"Are you guys fighting?" I asked them. "Are you mad at each other?"

"No, course not." Merida scoffed, trying and failing to sound like her regular self.

"What are you guys not telling me? Does this have anything to do with what happened with Jack this morning?" I asked.

"It's nothing." Hiccup said, not looking at Merida or me.

"So something did happen." I said.

"What? No." Hiccup said, shifting slightly in his seat.

I sighed. "You guys need to figure this out." I told them.

"There's nothing to figure out, Punzie." Merida said.

"The blush on Hiccup's face is telling me otherwise." I said, suddenly feeling annoyed with them.

Hiccup's blush only deepened more as he stammered and tried to cover it up.

"Just please work it out." I told them. "I don't want-"

"Attention students!" A man's voice rang out across the hall, stopping me from finishing sentence. I didn't recognize this person. They didn't have an accent like Prof. North or Prof. Bunnymund, nor were they Prof. Toothiana or Prof. Sandy for obvious reasons. I looked up to the front, and saw none other than the Minister of magic, Conrad Noman.

The Hall quieted down, though it wasn't completely silent as students began whispering about the presence of the Minister of magic.

"Thank you." He said. He was a short, stout man and wore a grey hat, with matching robes.

"I am here to announce that the first task will be tomorrow, after midday meal!" He waited for applause. None came. Minister Noman cleared is throat and continued.

"Alright. Competitors, you are expected to be at the quidditch pitch first thing tomorrow, for preparation. I wish the Champions the best of luck, as I will be at the first task, judging alongside the other Ministry officials. Thank you." And with that, he stepped off the platform and left the Great Hall.

The noise began to grow among the crowd as students started talking about the fast approaching tournament. Many students began looking down the table, stealing glances at Hiccup who sat there, still trying to get Volr to stop pecking his suit. Eventually, Hiccup gave up and just told Volr to leave, since all the other owls had already vacated the room.

"What subject do you have next, Punzie?" Merida asked suddenly.

"Transfiguration." Hiccup and I said at the same time. Merida and I looked at him in question.

"What?" He asked. How did he know the schedule? It was completely different from last year's, and he had been away from the school for 16 months. He'd have to had learned it very recently, not to mention have memorize it, to remember.

"It's the bloody common room password all over again." Merida muttered.


	30. Chapter 30

**Wow, all of todays chapters have been more than 2,000 words each. Hope you guys enjoy this last chapter of the triple update. I feel like I should warn you guys in advance that I will not be posting for a week. I will be away all week, and my marching band has a parade over the weekend as well. Sorry if this is last minute, but hopefully these chapters will sate your thirst for more updates. I'll see you all in a week, TheWorldGoesBoom.**

_**Merida POV**_

"Today's lesson is going to be about animagi." Professor Toothiana announced. "Does anybody know what an animagus is?"

I had heard the term animagus before, when Hiccup was about to leave, Jack had called him one. I vaguely remembered one of my family members had been an animagi, though it was years ago. I remember my grandfather turning into a giant Clydesdale, insisting he was the strongest horse in all of Scotland. Only a few hands were raised, and one of them was Hiccup's. Though he didn't have to come to classes, and most of the teachers would rather he didn't, he insisted upon coming.

"Yes, Haddock." She said. I had a feeling that Prof. Toothiana didn't mind the fact that Hiccup had returned, she had always seemed to favor him.

"An animagus is someone who can transform into an animal, usually their patronus form, without the need of a spell." He recited, as though reading from a textbook.

Prof. Toothiana smiled. "Ten points to Ravenclaw. Now, who knows what the difference between transfiguration and animagi is?"

At this, less hands were raised, and the ones that were raised seemed less sure of themselves.

"Miss Singh?" Prof. Toothiana fluttered excitedly.

"The power of an animagus is an ability, while transfiguration is a spell." Singh replied.

"Very good, miss Singh!" Prof. Toothiana fluttered excitedly. "Ten points to Gryffindor. Anything else to add to this?"

The class remained silent and no hands were raised, until Hiccup's slowly went up. I frowned. Why did he know so much about animagi? Was it possible that Hiccup was an Animagus? Jack had called him one in November...

"An animagus also has an identifying mark on them after they transform." Hiccup stated.

Prof. Toothiana nodded and smiled. "Very good, Haddock. Does anyone here know an animagus?" She asked.

The class remained silent. Not a single hand rose in the air.

Prof. Toothiana smiled kindly. "That's because Animagi are rare. Lots of wizards and witches think that their time could be better spent elsewhere. I however, think it's a wonderful ability that not enough people take advantage of. It's near impossible to hear about animagi these days, let alone know one-" Prof. Toothiana paused and looked at me.

I realized I had raised my hand. I quickly dropped it, not knowing what I had been thinking. Hiccup turned to me, eyes open in surprise and I blushed slightly. What's wrong with me? I had only been suspicious of Hiccup, I didn't know for sure that he was an animagus. Yet, my gut had told me otherwise.

Thinking back to what he had said earlier, about animagi usually taking on the form of their patronuses, I remembered the dragon in the woods and how it had matched Hiccup's patronus. Not only that, but it had defended Toothless, Hiccup's dragon, from those shadows, which Hiccup had been battling for these past months.

The eyes. If that dragon really had been Hiccup, then his identifying trait would have been his eyes.

My suspicions of Hiccup being an animagus were all but assured in my mind. All I needed was a confession. And I had an idea on how to get one.

"Do you know an animagus personally, Miss Dun'Broch?" Prof. Toothiana asked. Her light and airy voice snapped me out of my thoughts, and brought me back into the present.

I nodded slightly.

"Who is it?" she asked, seeming very excited. Her wings buzzed more rapidly.

"My great-grandfather, MacGuire Dun'Broch." I said quickly. "He was an animagus."

"Incredible. What was his animagus form?" She asked.

"A Clydesdale horse. The strongest in all of Scotland." I said. It wasn't a lie, but I felt untruthful when I said it out loud. I didn't know why I had even considered telling her about Hiccup when there had been a legitimate answer I could have used. I don't know what my problem is today. Ever since...last night, my mind has been a little frazzled, my head not quite in the game.

Prof. Toothiana smiled again and continued the lesson. I sighed and sat back in my seat, not realizing why I was so tense. I saw Hiccup continuously shooting me sideways glances throughout the class, not seeming to be paying much attention to the lesson. I didn't mind them, as occasionally I shot him the same glances, trying to read his face while sorting through my own thoughts.

At one point, our eyes met, and we both blushed and looked away. I caught Punzie frowning at both of us from her table beside our own. She had gone to sit with another Ravenclaw this period, probably on purpose, so that Hiccup and I would have no choice but to sit next to each other.

I had to give her credit, she was a lot more cunning than she seemed. No wonder she got along well with Jack.

"Thank you class, I'll see you all tomorrow!" Prof. Toothiana fluttered higher into the air, trying to speak above the noise of students getting ready to leave for Charms with Prof. Sandy. "Don't forget, the first task begins after midday meal tomorrow. I expect you all to be there!"

I stood and grabbed my books, stuffing them into the messenger bag I used to carry my things from class to class. I walked over hurriedly to Punzie's side, avoiding any contact with Hiccup. I was still so confused about what had happened last night. I didn't know how to feel or what to think anymore, and it was driving me mad.

All three of us exited the classroom together, side by side with Punzie squished in the middle. We made our way into charms class silently, taking our normal seats four to a desk. I looked over to the far seat beside Punzie, the one that Jack had always occupied. I wondered if he would come to this week's classes.

Then again, this was Jack. I wouldn't put it past him to skip classes, I would do the same if given the choice.

Professor Sandy sat in his chair, dozing softly as more students began piling into the room. Quickly, the desks filled up until every seat was full, all but Jack's. Then, to my surprise, the doors banged open and in strode a familiar, but late, white-haired boy. The sound startled Prof. Sandy, because he sat up suddenly, and floated over to the center of the room.

"Let me guess." Hiccup said, not bothering to look up from his journal he was sketching in. "Frosti's back." He deadpanned.

Jack looked around the room quickly before noticing our table was the only one with a free seat. He strode over confidently, no longer holding that odd staff he had been carrying around with him. He sat down in the stiff wooden chair next to Punzie, who remained silent at the sight of him.

I rolled my eyes. "Welcome back, snowflake." I said dryly.

"Good to be back, Princess." Jack smirked.

I decided that Jack's smirk was much more infuriating than Hiccup's.

Prof. Sandy floated lazily across the room, taking his usual position in front of the chalkboard. He flashed a quick smile before picking up a piece of gold coloured chalk to write on the board. He wrote an incantation on the board, as well as how to pronounce it.

"Aguamenti." I heard Punzie mutter beside me.

Prof. Sandy continued wrriting on the board, including a quick drawing of water sprouting from the tip of a wand. Then, with a small smile he performed the spell himself. The water coursed from his wand in a quick spurt, heading straight towards the group of Gryffindors sitting in the middle. I heard a girl squeal and I snorted.

"It's just a wee bit of water, lassie." I whispered to Hiccup out of habit. "It's not going to hurt you."

Hiccup snorted and then tried to cover it up when Prof. Sandy shot us a look. He pointed at us and made a motion with his wand, prompting us to try the spell.

"You want us to try the spell?" I asked him.

The small golden man crossed his arms and gave a tight nod, watching us with careful eyes. He pointed at Hiccup and I and then pointed to the ground beside him. We both stood slowly and made our way down to the floor, ignoring the quiet chuckles of Jack from behind us. When we reached the ground, I looked to Hiccup.

"Not it." I said. I wasn't going first. Besides, maybe I could watch Hiccup do the spell and get some ideas on how to do it properly.

Hiccup groaned, but reluctantly turned to face Prof. Sandy, no wand in hand. What was he doing? He brought an arm up and pushed it away from his body, a stream of water copying his movements, appearing out of nowhere, moving forwards, in a strong torrent towards Prof. Sandy. Just before it could douse the awed teacher, Hiccup stopped it, making it split down the middle and disappear around the little man.

He smirked and turned to me. "You're turn, Higness."

"Showboat." I muttered. Why did he always have to be dramatic?

"Here it goes." I muttered to myself. "Aguamenti."

I waved my wand up, in a simple pattern, and to my surprise a thin stream of water sprouted from the tip. I grinned, proud of my ability to cast a spell I had been improvising on. The only problem was, I didn't know how to stop the water. So, the small stream came crashing down upon Prof. Sandy. To his credit, he barely moved when it struck him, as though he was used to being constantly doused by water charms.

"Sorry, Professor. Didn't mean to douse you." I told him.

Professor Sandy waved it off; literally. He waved a hand and the water disappeared, leaving him once again warm and dry. A golden symbol flashed above his head, a hand pointing to our seats above the floor. Hiccup and I returned to our chairs, a smile still lingering on my face.

"Good job, Merida." Hiccup whispered to me.

"None too bad yourself." I told him, smiling. "For a Viking." At least some of the awkwardness between us had disappeared and we were able to carry a casual conversation again.

"Scot." I heard him mutter, turning away from me so we wouldn't get caught by Prof. Sandy. Though Sandy was kind and gentle teacher, he was also stern and could appear intimidating when he wanted to be.

"Chief." I muttered.

"Princess."

"Horrendous."

"Her Majesty"

"Dragon boy."

"Dragon boy?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at me.

I shrugged. "Thought I'd try something new."

Prof. Sandy gestured to the rest of the class to attempt the spell and by the end of it, only our table was dry, thanks to a quick charm from Hiccup. I was thankful for this, because at the end of the period, everyone around us was sopping wet, their robes hanging heavily from their shoulders, weighed down by the water.

"Reminds me of my first time here." Hiccup told me.

Punzie giggled and I laughed, remembering the day with fondness. Jack shot us questioning looks, but I ignored him, not fully trusting him anymore, not after what he had done. Hiccup had told me in secret about Jack, and his Norse identity as Jokul Frosti, the winter spirit. I knew about Jack being undercover for the Guardians, and so did Punzie. Jack just didn't know we knew.

With a faint tolling of the bell in the distance, we all stood with Prof. Sandy dismissing us with a wave goodbye. I stood and collected my things, only a quill and some ink I had placed on the table. My shoes squished along the soaked carpet of the classroom, stepping in puddles with my robes trailing in the water. Prof. Sandy had a lot of cleaning up to do. It was safe to say I didn't envy the little man.

As we walked out the door, I noticed that Punzie dropped back to walk alongside Jack. They talked quietly with each other, occasionally laughing. They seemed to have no problem reacquainting themselves with one another. It was like Jack had never left, and they managed to carry a normal, mundane conversation. Almost like the fact that we hadn't seen him betray us, then leave without an explanation only to return 18 months later had never happened. The scene was so normal it looked...absurd.

I noticed Hiccup staring absentmindedly off into the distance. I could tell he was thinking about something, probably a new idea he was mulling over in his mind. He was always thinking about something, there was a never a dull moment in that boys mind, but this looked like he was making a decision. He was warring with himself over something, and I wanted to know what it was.

"What are you thinking about?" I asked him.

"I'm not-nothing." He stammered.

I rolled my eyes. "You are the worst liar I've ever met."

"I'm not- I wasn't thinking about anything."

"Spill it Haddock." I told him, unimpressed by his feeble stammering.

"I just..." He trailed off. "Would you like to come with me, to ride Toothless?"


	31. Chapter 31

**So, I've been away for a long time, almost two weeks, and I'm going to update today with a large chapter. I do have only one concern, it seems as though I have lost some of my regular reviewers. Where are you guys? Is the story just...not worth reviewing anymore? Do I need to change something, or...? Please help me out here, I need to know if I need to change something, or keep doing what I'm doing. Please let me know. Anyways, here is the next chapter. Enjoy!**

_**Merida POV**_

My face brightened. "Course I do."

"Great. That's good." He said with a quick nod. We continued walking in silence. Hiccup glanced behind him, observing Punzie and Jack laughing loudly about something. He flashed a grin then turned back to face me.

"Let's go." He said. He suddenly turned down the east corridor, away from the Great Hall. I followed him reluctantly.

"What about Punzie?" I whispered to him. Though I didn't stop, I wasn't exactly in a hurry to get there. Wherever there was.

"She looks like she wouldn't mind some time alone with Jack." He muttered.

My mouth opened. "You don't think-"

"Punzie likes Jack?" He finished. "I don't know. I'm personally not a fan, but you know how close they were before he-we-left."

"Like us." I mumbled

Hiccup blushed. "Uh, yeah. Sure. Like-like us. Oh look, we're outside." He said, clearing his throat.

We had reached the east courtyard of the school. We continued walking towards the forbidden forest, careful to avoid the incoming quidditch players coming in for a meal after practice. We snuck past the Slytherin team and entered the dense foliage of the forest, with Hiccup in the lead.

Eventually, we stepped out into a clearing in the forest, the cove. Hiccup whistled loudly and a large black creature leaped out of the small cave occupying the area. The dragon crooned upon seeing Hiccup and jumped at him. I stepped back, cautious of the large beast as he ploughed into Hiccup. He rolled around in the dirt with him, covering Hiccup in slobber and various twigs from the forest floor.

"Toothless. Stop it!" Hiccup groaned. "You know that doesn't come off."

"Oi! Beastie, off of him!" I shouted.

Toothless stopped and looked up, seeming to only notice me now. It stepped off of Hiccup, with his tail hitting him on the head on the way.

"Toothless, Merida. Merida, Toothless." Hiccup said, patting the dirt off of his suit. He stood slowly. "You guys have met before."

Toothless came closer to, sniffing me with ears perked up. After snuffling my hair and nudging my face with his nose he turned back to Hiccup.

"What?" He asked Toothless. The dragon snorted and turned back to me. He took another hard look at me before he tilted his head, his curiosity piqued.

"Hello there, beastie. Easy now." I said gently, holding a hand out in front of me. With only a moment of hesitation, the dragon leaned forward, placing his nose in the palm of my hand. I inhaled sharply. The dragon pulled away and went back over to Hiccup who swung his leg over his back.

"Is that a saddle?" I asked him, disbelief in my voice.

"Yep. Made it myself." He extended a hand my way. "Coming up?" He asked.

"Course I am." I said. I placed a hand in his firm grip as he hoisted me up.

I heard something click below my feet and looked down, to see Hiccup's prosthetic locked into a pedal, with gears and wires running down the length of the dragon.

"What's that?" I asked, pointing to the pedal.

"This is how I control Toothless's tail fin." He replied, moving his prosthetic up and down. I heard slight clinking of metal behind me and saw a bright red tail fin opening and closing next to Toothless's natural one.

I gasped. "That's incredible. Did you make it?" I asked him.

"Uh, yes. Back on Berk."

"Why don't you just use magic?" I asked him.

"I do, but this is more fun." He grinned. "You ready?"

"As I'll ever be. Let's go, Viking."

"Hold on tight, Scot." He smirked. "C'mon bud."

With a pat from Hiccup Toothless pushed up from the ground, leaping into the sky.

_**Punzie POV**_

"Where did Hiccup and Merida go?" I asked. They had been just in front of us as we were walking down to the Great Hall.

Jack shrugged. "I don't know. They weren't that far ahead of us. Besides, Hiccup's slow on the ground."

"That's not very nice, Jack." I couldn't help but say, though I did so with a grin.

My eyes searched the corridor for Merida's flaming head of hair, easily noticeable in a crowd.

"Maybe they're already in the Great Hall." I suggested.

"Maybe." He said. Then he looked down at me, a playful spark lighting his eyes. I looked up at him, smiling. I knew that look very well.

"Why don't we have some fun, instead?" He suggested.

"Would this, by any chance, involve pulling a prank on the Slytherins?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

"It may or may not." He said lightly. "But if it did, what would you say?"

"Yes." I said. Jack looked to me in surprise. I smiled.

"Is there a reason for this?" He asked, a mischievous grin lighting up his face. I set my face into a determined look and gave a short nod.

"Something that happened a few days ago." I said, trying to sound vague about it.

"And what would that be?" He asked, suddenly interested.

"It's not really my story to tell. Are you coming?" I taunted, pulling ahead of him.

"Yes." He said, laughing. "Let's go!" He grabbed my wrist and pulled me excitedly past the open doors of the Great Hall, both of us laughing joyously. I loved these little carefree moments with Jack. With so much happening all at once this month, it was nice to just get away and have some fun. Besides, I wasn't exactly complaining being alone with him...

_**Jack POV**_

"Anyone in particular you want to get back at?" I asked Rapunzel. She looked thoughtful for a moment before her face lit up.

"Malum Puer." She said with conviction.

"What did he ever do to you?" I asked her.

"Not to me." She shook her head. "I only want the slightest bit of vengeance."

I whistled. "He must have done something really bad to make you want revenge."

"The slightest bit." Rapunzel nodded, then looked up at me with large green eyes. "You promise this won't hurt him?" She asked.

Of course she was worried for a Slytherin, this was Rapunzel I was talking to. Sweet, caring Rapunzel who-no. That wasn't fair. Not to her or to myself. I had to shake this idea that we could be something...more.

I shook my head and smiled to cover my thoughts. "Course not. I just wanna have some fun."

Rapunzel nodded, apparently satisfied with my answer.

"So, whats the plan?" She asked.

"Malum is going for a swim." I smirked.

Rapunzel frowned slightly, a small crease appearing on her forehead.

I used the charm Tooth had taught me to extend my wand back into my staff. I leapt out from around the corner of the building, catching Malum and his friends on their way back from quidditch practice.

"Heads up!" I called. I launched a snowball at Malum's face and he dropped his broom in shock.

"It's Overland!" Someone called. It was one of Malum's two goons, probably the taller one as his voice was much deeper.

"Get him!" Malum said. I laughed as I ran in front of him.

"Catch me if you can!" I taunted them, racing across the courtyard.

I threw another snowball over my shoulder as the three sixth years chased after me. I ran towards the hill that led down to the lake, preparing to cover it in ice to slip them up to send them tumbling down, into the water below. Malum and his friends continued chasing me until we reached the top of the hill that led up to the castle. I ran down about halfway, waiting for them to catch up. As soon as I saw them take that first step off the top of the hill, ice appeared beneath their feet, slipping them up as they tried to find purchase on the icy ground.

Malum fell first, knocking the other two of his crew members off their feet. They went sliding down the hill quickly in a tangle of arms and legs. With a large splash, they flew into the lake, spraying water everywhere. I pumped a fist in the air and laughed. The water wan't cold enough to harm them, but it couldn't be comfortably warm either.

Without notice, Rapunzel had come up from behind me, panting heavily after running down the hill. She was faster than I'd thought her to be, especially with all that hair she always wore in a braid. Although she was smiling, I could still see slight anxiety in those mesmerizing green orbs.

"Anything you wanna say to them?" I asked her, beaming.

"Yeah." She muttered. "That was for my mudblood friend!" She yelled loud enough for them to hear across the lake. I could hear faint cursing coming from the center of the lake as they swam towards the shore.

"We should get going." I told her. "Before they get out of that lake."

"Good idea." She said. We turned and ran up the hill, laughing along the way.


	32. Chapter 32

So, it's been awhile, and I'll admit that I haven't been updating all that often. I've just been a little...busy. A few things going on in life, no need to worry. I'll get through them, and there is no way I'll abandon this story. I will see it through till the end, rest assured! I may not be updating as often as I have been, maybe once a week instead of twice. Sorry about that, but I've hit a terrible bout of writers block and need to catch up on my writing. So, without further ado, onward with the next chapter! Enjoy!

_**Hiccup POV**_

We landed in the cove, with Merida talking excitedly in my ear.

"That was incredible!" She said as she jumped from Toothless's back onto the ground. I grinned and followed her down, though not quite as enthusiastically. I swung my right leg over and dismounted Toothless, scratching him behind the ear as I did so. I smiled at Merida.

"You're not so bad, beastie." Merida said, joining me in scratching Toothless. "Neither is your rider." She mock whispered to him.

I felt my face grow hot and I scratched the back of my head, trying to quell some of the heat rushing to my face. Merida laughed and threw her arms around my neck.

"Thank you for the ride, Hiccup." She said.

I stood there awkwardly for a moment, unsure of what to do. I felt a blush rise to my cheeks as I debated what to do next. Merida pulled away, looking a little red in the face as well.

"I do have a question for you." She said.

"Sure." I said, beginning to cast the spell over Toothless's tail fin to allow him to fly on his own, just in case something happened...

"Why didn't you tell me you were an animagus?" She said.

I lost my concentration on the spell I was casting and Toothless's tail fin sparked.

"Woah!" I said jumping back. Toothless turned around to look at me, eyeing the smoking tail fin. He narrowed his eyes, and I could practically hear his thoughts. G_et it together_. I patted it out and took a deep breath.

"Sorry, sorry. I'll fix it." I mumbled. How did Merida know I was an animagus? It didn't make sense. Even Jack didn't know about my ability, after months of following Toothless and I. No one but myself and Toothless knew. Well, at least that's what I had thought. It seemed like no secrets were safe anymore, at least not from Merida.

Speaking of Merida, she stood in front of me, her arms crossed across her chest, waiting.

"I uh, am not actually an animagus. It was just a spell and-"

"Ha! So you are one!" She said, triumphant.

"What? No-"

"I never said I saw anything, Haddock." She said.

Toothless warbled at me. He was asking me what I was going to do now. I wondered myself. Fortunately for me, Merida began talking first.

"So what's your animagus form?" She asked. "It's your patronus, right?"

"Merida, I'm not-"

"It is, isn't it? But then that means that day in the forest when that dragon attacked us...that was you!" Her arms dropped down to her sides as she pointed an accusing finger at my chest. "Why would you attack me? Why did you blast Jack into that tree?"

"To be fair, he attacked me first." I defended. "I was protecting myself. Besides, the shot wasn't lethal."

"But you could have hurt him. You could have hurt me." She said.

"I wasn't going to hurt you." I said. "I was trying to get you away from Toothless so the shadows wouldn't attack you."

"So you were that huge black dragon that was defending Toothless?" She asked.

"Yes." I took a deep breath. "Look, Merida, you can't tell anyone about this."

Her face was set into a frown. "Why not?" She asked. "Hiccup, this is huge! You are possibly the only animagus in all of the north, and you are the only known wizard ever whose animagus is a magical creature."

I ran a hand over my face, an old habit I found was resurfacing quite a lot lately.

"Merida, I'm not actually a registered animagus." I told her.

"What does that mean?"

"It means if the ministry finds out, I go to..." I grew quieter. "To Azkaban for who knows how long." I sighed. "I'd rather fly into Berk on a dragon during Snoggletog."

"They wouldn't do that, would they? The ministry?" Merida whispered in mute horror.

I nodded.

"That's terrible." She said. We were silent for moment before Merida looked at me. "I won't tell anyone, so long as you show me your animagus form." A small smiled formed on her lips.

I groaned. "Really?" I asked.

Merida nodded, trying to hide her smile. I grinned too, right before I transformed, startling Merida. With barely a second thought, the familiar feeling of my powerful limbs and huge wings returned to me. My senses were sharpened and everything seemed much smaller, including Toothless. I found a small spark of immature pleasure that came with seeing the shocked look on Merida's face.

"That's incredible." Merida said. She reached forward to touch one of my wings and I pulled back a little. I warbled at her, enjoying the child like awe that filled her at the sight of me. Her bright blue eyes met my own for a brief moment.

"Your eyes. They're the same." She said.

I nodded carefully and leaped up onto one of the huge pine trees surrounding the cove. The tree bent and groaned under my weight, but held as I stared down at the small figures standing in the cove. I enjoyed being up in the trees as a dragon, something I would never be able to do as a human. Toothless had decided to take a nap while Merida marveled at my new form.

"You can understand me?" She asked. I snorted. Of course I could understand her, I was a dragon, not stupid.

She laughed. "That's definitely Hiccup in there."

I let out a quiet roar, a small draconic chuckle.

"Can you breathe fire?" She asked.

I nodded slowly, anticipating what was coming next.

"Show me." She demanded.

I snorted, the dragon form of a sigh. I leaped off the protesting tree, positioning myself to land before Merida. It snapped back into shape with a sharp crack as I landed gracefully in the cove. I stretched a wing out and prodded Merida, trying to tell her to back up. She looked very confused and I rolled my eyes. I nudged her with my head, gently pushing her back.

I took a deep breath and released a small black orb of fire, allowing it to hit a huge oak tree, promptly splitting it in half. The tree fell and I winced as the booming sound echoed throughout the entire forest. My blasts were becoming stronger, I needed to learn how to control those better.

With the blink of an eye, I turned back into my human form. I looked over to Merida, who stood in front of a boulder, awestruck.

"You just killed a tree." She muttered.

I winced again. "Yeah, uh, didn't mean to do that. Gotta watch the intensity on those things."

"It's hard to believe it's you in there." She muttered. "The dragon is so...huge and you're so..."

"Hiccup." I deadpanned.

Merida let out a nervous laugh but didn't deny it.

"Are you going to use it during the tournament?" She asked me, coming over to my side. "You'd win for sure."

"Let me think." I said sarcastically. "Turn into my illegal animagus form during a deadly tournament, while ministry officials watch my every move, only to win something I'm hoping I'll just barely survive. Sure! It's not like I enjoy my freedom or anything."

Merida scowled. "I was just asking a simple question."

I sighed. "Sorry, sorry. There's just a lot going on right now and-"

Merida held up a hand. "The last time you said that, you left. You told me that you wouldn't be leaving again."

"Merida-"

"Hiccup you can't keep running away from all of your problems!" She said.

"I know." I said, floundering. I knew that I couldn't stay here, the shadows would start attacking soon. But I had promised Merida...

I couldn't leave her, or this school. Not after I just got back...

"Don't leave me again, Hiccup." She said, her voice cutting though my thoughts. The odd part was, they almost mirrored them.

"Not after I just got you back..." She was quiet now, and was standing very close to me.

I swallowed. "I don't want to leave you Merida. I don't want to keep running-"

"Then don't." She said gently.

"I can't." I said, my voice breaking slightly. "You don't-you don't understand. They're like nothing you've ever seen before-"

"Why don't you think we can't handle ourselves here?" She asked. "What's so dangerous you feel it's completely up to you to protect us?"

"They're giant shadow-like things." I said, trying to find the right words to describe them. "They feed off of people's energies and paralyze them with fear, children especially. I couldn't return because they would always be attacking me and they were-they're attracted to Toothless and I, Merida." I paused. "You can't defeat these things. The only reason I can is because...when I touch one, I absorb their energies, the life forces of other people. I consume the lives they stole from others and-" I stopped.

"Me being here endangers everyone. I think-I think that's what the scroll meant." I looked at her. "I'm not the one that's a threat to the students, I'm the one that attracts the threat to them. I'm the conduit, the connecting rod."

Merida was silent for a moment before light dawned in her eyes. The reason I had left was clear now.

"So when you cut the connector-"

"You cut the threat off." I finished. "There is no threat if there is no connector."

There was a strong silence, and I swear I could feel it hovering over our heads.

"How can we destroy these things?" She asked.

"We?" I asked.

"Well, if you're going to be attracting these shadow beasties, I want to know how to fight back." She said, determined.

"You can't fight back, and that's the problem." I explained. "I've only found two things that can destroy them. A dragons fire and...my touch."

The determined look still didn't fall from Merida's face. "You're still not going anywhere."

"Merida, I have-I have to leave. I can't stay not when-not when others could be hurt. After the tournament-"

"You'll be finishing sixth year here, along with the rest of us." She crossed her arms. "You're not leaving again, Haddock, even if I have to chain you and your beastie to a tree, I'll do it."

"That's a little harsh." I said, raising an eyebrow her way.

"I told you, you're not leaving again."

I nodded absentmindedly, lost in thought.

"We should get back." She said. "Curfew's in an hour"

"Yeah, curfew. Good idea." I said.

"Can we ride Toothless back to the castle?" She asked.

"No."

"What if you turn into that giant beastie and I ride on your back?"

"You're not riding either of us back to the castle."

"You're boring." Merida said.

"You're crazy." I quipped

"So are you." She said

"Valid point, princess."

"My point's are always valid, Chief." She grinned smugly.

I smiled. Reasons like this were the reason I left, they were what I wanted to protect. To protect them, I had to cut off the connecting rod, snip the conduit. I was going to make sure nothing was ever going to happen Merida, or to the students of Hogwarts, even if that meant leaving again. Even if that meant breaking Merida's heart.

Even if it meant breaking my own.


	33. Chapter 33

**Oh gods, it's been forever since I've updated! I am so, so sorry for the huge wait! I feel terrible. But, the good news is I got some serious writing done, and...get this... I've begun a new ROTBTD story. Now, it's not posted yet, I'm still finishing writing it, but it's on it's way! It's an interesting AU, something amazing and rare, I promise. For now, please enjoy this really long, dramatic 33rd chapter of The Old Norse Scroll.**

**P.S. I'll update sooner, I promise!**

**_Merida POV_**

We sat in Gryffindor common room on the various plush chairs and couches that surrounded the fire. We had all just returned from our varying adventures, all of us happy and bright with joy. I had wondered what Jack and Punzie had been up to, and if it had been as amazing as what Hiccup and I had done.

"Where did you two go?" Punzie asked Hiccup and I. We sat on a large couch, the same one we had sat on only three nights ago.

"I could ask the same of you, Punzie." I replied, evading her question.

Punzie blushed slightly. "We were playing a prank on the Slytherins."

"Punzie, playing a prank?" I smiled. "That's great! Who did you pull it on?"

"Malum Puer." Jack said, grinning.

"Malum Puer?" Hiccup asked from behind me quietly.

"Yeah." Jack said. "Punzie wanted revenge on him for something."

"Punzie wanted vengeance?" I asked. "He must have done something truly terrible to deserve that."

Hiccup nodded mutely beside me.

"So what did you do to the poor lad?" I asked, eager to hear about it.

"It was amazing." Jack laughed. "He didn't even see it coming. I nailed him and his goonies with a snowball-"

"Then he started chasing Jack." Punzie cut in.

"They stood at the top of the hill and all I had to do was make a path of ice-"

"And they slid straight into the lake!" Punzie finished. "There was a huge splash and everything!"

"Where are they now?" Hiccup asked.

Jack shrugged. "We left them in the lake."

"Great." Hiccup muttered.

"So why did you want revenge, Punz?" I asked her. "Did he kick a puppy?"

"She said something about a mudblood friend." Jack frowned.

"A mudblood friend?" Hiccup asked.

"Yeah." Jack said, leaning back comfortably in his chair. "What is a mudblood, anyways?"

"It's a nasty word stuck up, pretentious-"

"Merida..." Punzie warned.

"People use to describe a muggle-born wizard or witch." I finished, looking to Punzie pointedly. "It's a disgusting insult that no one deserves."

Jack nodded slowly and turned to Rapunzel. "So who was this 'mudblood friend' you wanted revenge for?"

"It was no one specific." Punzie said quietly. "I got lost in the moment and...reacted."

I took a closer look at her. She was lying and we all knew it.

"You can tell us Punz." I told her gently. "We're not mad at you. I thought it was bloody brilliant."

Punzie's eyes flickered momentarily to Hiccup's, who sat beside me quietly.

"Come on Punz." Jack prompted, sitting forward in his seat.

"I really shouldn't say..." She hesitated.

"If you don't tell us, then we'll find out ourselves." I warned.

"We'll go ask Malum and his goons." Jack said.

"I'd advise against that." Hiccup said.

"Why?" I asked.

"Because they will retaliate. On all of you." He explained.

"Don't you want to know?" Jack asked.

"I already do." He explained.

I stared at him, baffled. "How do you always know so much? Do you have a house elf alliance or something?" I asked him.

"A house elf alliance." He paused. "That may not actually be a bad idea. I bet-"

"Forget I said anything." I said, seeing the gears already turning in his head. "But how do you know who she's talking about?"

"Because it was him." Punzie muttered quietly. Hiccup stared at the fire, silent.

"Wait a second, Malum called you a mudblood?" Jack asked.

Hiccup shot a look at Punzie and she nodded quietly.

"That good for nothing, blood-boiling-" I began.

"Calm down Merida." Hiccup soothed. "It doesn't matter."

"It doesn't matter!" I said. I was absolutely teeming with rage. "When exactly did this happen, and why didn't you tell us?" I asked him.

"I told Rapunzel not to tell anyone because I knew you two would react like this." He explained calmly.

I looked over to Jack, who appeared mad, though not as angry as I was.

"You're a bloody idiot." I told him. "When did this happen?" I asked him.

At this Hiccup shifted uncomfortably in his chair. Rapunzel fiddled with her braid silently, not meeting anyone's eyes.

"When did that low-life call you a mudblood, Hiccup?" Jack asked behind me.

Hiccup threw up his hands. "Wha-why does it matter?"

"Because you're my friend, and if you're not gonna bewitch that troll, then I bloody will." I told him.

"You promise not to react?" He asked me.

I huffed. "We'll see."

"Merida..." Punzie warned.

"Fine! I promise. Now spill it, when did he call you a mudblood?"

Hiccup scrutinized my face, looking or any signs that I was lying. I was a skilled fibber, however, with years of practice of hiding things from Mum. I kept an expression of neutral anger, and crossed my arms.

"It was long ago." He muttered, breaking eye contact with me. "Around the time I...left."

"He's lying." Punzie almost whispered.

Jack and I both looked at Punzie, who now seemed to be on our side.

"It was Care of Magical Creatures, this afternoon." She said.

Hiccup sighed beside me.

"This afternoon!" I nearly yelled. "I'm gonna kill him. I'm gonna bloody murder that-"

"Merida. You said you wouldn't react." Hiccup told me, grabbing my arm to keep me from standing up.

"Well if you're not going to react, then I will." I told him.

Jack stood alongside me. "Why didn't you do anything?"

Hiccup opened his mouth to say something, but Punzie cut him off.

"We're not going to stoop to his level." She said, determined. "Hiccup's right. Just don't react."

Jack and I stood. It was the Ravenclaws against the Gryffindors. The wise and intelligent against the brave and daring. I thought for a moment. I really wanted to run up to Malum and punch his face in, but Punzie and Hiccup's words rang with wisdom.

I huffed. "Fine. I won't do anything to him."

"Good." Hiccup sighed. I took a swing at his shoulder, my fist connecting with the part of his armor covered only by soft leather.

"Ow! What-"

"That was for being an idiot." I told him.

"Can I punch Hiccup?" Jack asked, sitting down heavily. He looked disappointed he wouldn't get to lob more snowballs at Malum.

"You already have." Hiccup muttered. Jack shrugged.

"You punched Hiccup?" Punzie asked him.

"He started it." Jack said, pointing at a still recovering Hiccup.

"What? I didn't start it. I was just trying to talk to you!" Hiccup looked incredulous.

"What are you talking about?" I asked them.

"The Arctic circle." Jack said.

"Thanks, Frost. Cause I was there." I rolled my eyes.

Jack grinned and leaned forwards, ready to tell his story. "I caught up to him and his overgrown lizard-"

"Toothless." Hiccup cut in.

"When my staff-"

"Stick." Hiccup coughed.

"Went flying from my hands" Jack continued, ignoring Hiccup. "Horrendous over here had it and I went to get it back."

"By punching me in the face." Hiccup deadpanned sarcastically. "You should become a diplomat, with your impressive negotiation skills."

I grinned at Hiccup's dry wit.

"Sounds like you two really..." Punzie began.

"Hated each other." Jack and Hiccup mused. The two turned to look at each other, with small frowns on their faces.

"Had some crazy adventures." Punzie finished, eyeing Hiccup and Jack warily.

"What did you do next?" I asked.

"Hiccup flew off." Jack explained.

Hiccup pursed his lips looking like he wanted to say something more when a piercing shriek could be heard in the corridor. It was unnatural and eerie, silencing everyone.

"Hiccup..." I whispered.

"No, no, no. Not the school." I heard Hiccup mutter. He muttered something unintelligible under his breath. (Was that Norse?) He leapt up from the couch and drew his flaming sword, instantly lighting it as the blade extended.

"I knew this would happen. I knew it." He muttered. Then with wide eyes he turned to us. "Don't leave this room."

"Hiccup-" Punzie said.

"Don't. Leave." He looked to me. "Keep them here, Merida." I nodded mutely and he ran off into the corridor.

"Come on, we have to go-" Jack said.

"No." I told them, grabbing Jack's arm as he stood from the chair. "We can't fight these."

"Fight what?" Punzie asked. "Merida, we have to go help Hiccup, he could be in trouble-"

"No Punzie." I told her. "We'd only be holding him back."

"I don't care." Jack said. "I have to get out there."

"Jack, you're not leaving this room." I told him, with more force behind my words.

"What's going on? Merida please-"

"Stop arguing with me!" I said. "Hiccup knows what he's doing, so trust him. Now sit down and don't go out there!" I ordered them, my mother's lessons on projection coming back to me. Maybe they weren't completely useless...

Another shrill screech pierced the air, and we all froze, the inhuman sound paralyzing us with fear. The only reassurance I had was that the sound was muffled, meaning it had come from outside. I searched the door desperately, hoping to see a familiar head poking their head through that door, announcing all is fine.

We all continued standing there, eyes trained fearfully on the door as we strained our ears for any more sounds. Minutes passed, almost ten, when the door swung open. I breathed a sigh of relief as a metal contraption poked it's way into the common room, with the lanky body of my friend attached to it.

"Hiccup." I said, it was barely a sigh of relief as it passed through my lips. I walked up to him quickly, searching him for any injuries. He looked very awake and energized, like he had just returned from a flight with Toothless. With a jolt, my suspicions as to what the creature had been raced through my body.

"I'm fine." He muttered. "But they got-they got someone earlier, not a student, but-" He stopped and swallowed. "It's gone." He said with finality.

Jack and Punzie approached slowly, still in shock.

"What was that?" Jack asked.

I backed up slowly, unaware of how close I had been leaning in to examine Hiccup's face. He looked defeated, and distressed. Though his eyes sparked with surplus amounts of energy, his face held emotions of horror and sadness. He had explained to me what it meant when he defeated a shadow, and I knew he hated it.

"It was a, uh, shadow...creature...thingy." He said.

"A shadow creature?" Punzie squeaked. "The thing that just screeched was a shadow?"

"What aren't you telling us?" Jack asked. His wand was drawn and I had the suspicion that he wanted to extend it into his staff.

"You did this, didn't you?" Jack said. True to my suspicions, his wand grew into his staff, the one with the curved top that resembled a sheperds crook. "I knew we shouldn't have let you back in. The scroll-"

"Jack, I didn't do anything-" Hiccup said.

"Then explain, Haddock." Jack ordered. "Or I'll tell North and he 'breaks rules'."

I saw Hiccup's eyes flit nervously to mine. He was asking for help, he was unsure how to go about this.

"I-I need to go-" He said.

Jack pointed his staff at his chest. Hiccup stared at him, betrayal flashing through his eyes. He quickly covered it with a look of stubborness, refusing to let Jack see the hurt in his eyes.

"Explain, Haddock." Jack ordered again.

Hiccup set his jaw. "I need to-I have to go check on Toothless."

Jack said nothing, only continued staring at Hiccup with his staff held rigidly in front of him.

"Jokul." Hiccup muttered, clearly impatient. I feared that the energy he had absorbed from the shadow was addling with his thoughts, because Hiccup was acting oddly, not quite himself.

"Explain, Haddock." Jack repeated. "Last chance."

"Jack..." I began, not knowing what else to say.

Why was Jack always at Hiccup's throat? It was like there was no trust for him anymore. Hiccup seemed to have whole-heartedly forgiven everyone. Jack wasn't quite ready to do so.

"I'm not explaining until I know Toothless is safe." Hiccup said. Suddenly his hand shot out and he grabbed Jack's staff. Jack, already terse was ready and pulled back. Hiccup let go and Jack fell back onto the ground. Hiccup turned and ran out the door.

"Real classy, Haddock." Jack muttered under his breath. Then he stood and ran out the door silently.

"Should we follow them?" Punzie asked quietly.

I nodded. "That would be a good idea."


	34. Chapter 34

**I fell like I've been neglecting my updating duties lately, and for that, I'm sorry. The problem is, I just don't have any chapters to update with! A nasty bout of writers block has taken over my mind, and I'm finding it hard to find inspiration with nothing to do but sit in the dark and stare at my screen. I have, however, managed to concoct this chapter for a nice follow up to the tiny cliffhanger last episode. So, enjoy!**

_**Hiccup POV**_

I walked briskly out of the castle, pushing past every person that blocked my path. The energy and power I had absorbed from the shadow still coursed through me. This shadow had been especially energetic, filling me with the need to burn it off. I knew that Toothless was fine, I had set protective charms around the cove for that very reason. I left because I needed to get away, to fly on my own and clear my head.

I reached the edge of the grounds of the school. In my haste to get away, I had forgotten about the terms of the triwizard tournament. I couldn't leave school grounds. I stood just past the quidditch pitch, ready to try and step past the school boundaries. I took a step forwards reluctantly. Nothing happened, encouraged, I took another one.

A shock of pain coursed through me and the world turned black for a moment. I was launched backwards, away from the boundary. Groaning, I lay on the ground and slowly picked myself up, wincing as I did so.

"That was awfully violent." I uttered under my breath. The school grounds remained quiet.

I had an idea. The terms of the tournament stated that I couldn't leave the grounds, but could my animagus form? It could work, if the spell didn't include any loopholes. I considered transforming before I heard muffled voices behind me.

Of course they had decided to follow me. I had chosen probably some of the most stubborn group of friends in the school. I took a deep breath and prepared what information they needed to hear, and what I needed to keep from them. They approached quickly, with Rapunzel surprisingly in the lead.

I stood with my back to the boundary line, waiting patiently for them to arrive. I saw Merida pull away from Rapunzel and Jack, coming up to talk to me.

"What were you thinking?" I heard Merida's thick accent cut through the silence. "You weren't checking in on Toothless, you're out here doing who knows what-"

"I needed time to calm down." I told her quietly. I searched her bright blue eyes, trying to explain to her what was too risky to say aloud at the moment.

"What do you think you're doing, Haddock?" I heard Jack say from behind Merida. I tore my gaze from hers and looked over her shoulder.

"I'm hunting leopards." I said sarcastically.

No one laughed and I was reminded oddly of home, with stern faces surrounding me and my dry humor reaching deaf ears.

"Hiccup, what was that thing outside?" Punzie asked me. They had all arrived by now, and they formed a semi-circle around me.

"It was a shadow creature...thingy." I said, though it sounded more like a question.

"Please, indulge me." Jack said, leaning casually on his staff. "What's a 'shadow creature thingy'?"

I sighed. "They're these...creatures. They're made of pure darkness and are really nasty, evil things. When they attack people, mostly children, they steal their confidence and-and happiness, leaving them paralyzed from fear. It steals a part of their soul as it passes through them, and..." I stopped. "They normally don't recover."

"Wait a second." Jack held up a hand. "Why haven't the Guardians heard of these if they're attacking children?"

I paused. "There's no accounts of them in books, or stories. Nothing. It's like they never existed at all, until now."

"So why now?" Rapunzel asked.

"We don't know." Merida cut in.

I nodded in agreement. "Uh, yes. We don't actually know why they've started to appear."

"So we've never heard of these shadows before, but you can still fight them?" Jack asked, not buying the story.

"Uh, yes." I said.

"How?" Rapunzel asked.

"His sword." Merida said. "They can only be killed by a dragons fire, and Hiccup's sword uses a dragon's fire spell."

Merida's lie sounded so truthful, I almost believed her myself. I had always wondered how she had learned to lie so well.

There was silence for a few moments before Rapunzel suggested we return to the common room before it became too dark to see.

"Go ahead." I told her. "I have something I need to do."

She looked like she wanted to ask why, but pursed her lips instead and went over to Jack, whispering something to him. He nodded and they left, leaving only Merida and I standing on the hill.

"Why did you come this far out?" Merida asked me, walking over to stand beside me. She crossed her arms and stared out at the vast forest in front of us.

"I wanted to fly." I said, kicking a stone past the boundaries. "Except, the tournament's rules won't let me leave school grounds."

Merida was silent again.

"Are you okay?" She asked. "I know you hate the whole...shadow touching thing."

I nodded mutely. "It never gets any easier. No matter how many times I-"

I sighed and closed my eyes. Merida stood closely beside me, and I became very aware of her presence.

"Do you know what the first task is yet?" She asked, deciding to change the difficult topic we had stumbled upon.

"No. They don't tell you until minutes before."

"Are you nervous?" She asked, casting a sideways glance my way.

"What? Me, nervous? No way." I said. "I have totally got this."

Merida smiled gently and we continued staring out into the horizon in front of us.

"You know, if we get caught out here, we'll be expelled." Merida said.

"I can't be expelled until after the tournament." I told her. "All part of your master plan to make me stay, remember?"

Merida looked slightly guilty, but didn't apologize for anything.

"Why did you come out to the pitch, why not go through the forest?" She asked me, curiosity evident in her voice.

I took a deep breath. "The energy that I absorb...it's very potent. I need to get rid of some of it before I lose my mind and something happens. Sometimes it can...effect how I think, depending on the soul I-I absorb. Flying...helps. I couldn't spontaneously turn into a dragon in front of the school, or someone might see me."

"Why didn't you? Transform I mean, when you got here."

"I was going to fly off when I heard you but...the tournaments rules; I can't leave the school's grounds."

"How does it keep you in?" She asked.

I cast a rather bitter look at the ground in front of me, as though there were a bold line directing where the border was.

"A charm or a jinx. It gives you something similar to a shock, and then it throws you back, away from the boundary line. It's very violent, and painful." I added.

"So say I pushed you forwards..." Merida taunted.

"Oh, ha ha." I deadpanned. I rolled my eyes before turning to face Merida.

"I was thinking earlier, about how North said that I couldn't leave school grounds. I was going to try and pass through it in my animagus form, because then it's not actually me passing through. It's not Hiccup, it's the dragon." I faced the invisible barrier.

"What if it doesn't work?" Merida asked, facing the boundary line alongside me.

"Then this is going to hurt." I told her.


	35. Chapter 35

**Yet again, I feel like I've been neglecting my updating duties of once weekly. It's been over 7 days (winces), and I feel bad, so instead of posting two separate chapters I've just turned it into on big one. Please keep in mind that I've been fighting insane writers block, and with nothing to fuel my creativity this chapter isn't as good as I thought it would be. Still, I think it's decent enough to hopefully tie you guys over for a while. Hope you enjoy!**

_**Jack POV**_

"Why are you always so suspicious of Hiccup?" Punzie asked me.

I sighed and gripped my staff tighter. Punzie and I were walking back to the school together, our soft voices breaking the silence of the night.

"I'm not always suspicious of him." I told her. "Only when he does suspicious things."

I looked down at Rapunzel, who couldn't help but smile a little. The moon illuminated her eyes, and her hair glinted in the pale light. I had to tear my eyes away from her face before she caught me staring.

"Why won't you give him a chance?" She asked quietly. "He's already forgiven you completely, why can't you trust him?"

"I want to. I really do, it's just...everything the Guardians have me doing right now is against that." I paused and shrunk my staff back into it's wand form.

"No trusting Haddock boy." I mocked Norths thick russian accent. "Keep away from that troublemaker, mate." I said, this time taking on Bunny's rich Australian accent.

Rapunzel giggled, and I grinned.

"Will you please try to change their minds? Just get them to ease off of him a bit." She asked.

My smile slowly faded. "Punzie, that's-"

"Please, Jack?" She asked me. I looked at her and knew that was my first mistake. She had won the instant my eyes had travelled to her face.

"I'll try, Punz." I told her. "But no promises."

"Thank you, Jack. You won't regret it." She said, looking satisfied with my answer. We walked a few steps in silence, before Rapunzel spoke again.

"What do you want to do now?" She asked. "It's past curfew, so I guess we should head back to our dorms..."

I paused before another grin lit up my face. "Want to sneak into the Great Hall and prank Pitch?"

Rapunzel smiled.

_**Merida POV**_

"It's not that funny Merida." Hiccup told me. He climbed to his feet slowly after having changed back from his animagus form.

I continued laughing. It had been a hysterical sight, seeing a ginormous dragon being launched over my head onto the ground. Hiccup had been very ungraceful and I couldn't help but laugh.

"Seriously, it's not that funny." He said again, groaning as he stretched out his back.

I slowly stopped laughing, and settled for a smile on my face.

"You should have seen how far it launched you!" I told him. "Way up into the air! It was incredible."

"Didn't feel that incredible." He muttered. He took shaky steps towards me and I considered the fact that it could have hurt him.

"Are you okay?" I asked him, finally concerned.

"I think so." He said as he reached my side. "I'm not dead."

"Did it really hurt that much?" I asked.

"Hurt more than last time." He said. I suspected he was still a bit bitter towards the boundary line, as it prevented him from flying. And his freedom.

"The charm is a lot stronger than when I tried to pass through earlier." He said. He stared past the hill that marked the boundaries of the school, a slight frown creasing his forhead.

I looked up at the night sky, now fully realising how late it was. I wondered how close to morning it was, and what the new day would bring.

"The tournament starts tomorrow." I said, sneaking a glance at him.

"I know." He said quietly, not taking his eyes off the horizon.

"Are you ready?"

"As I'll ever be." He tore his gaze from the starry sky and looked over to the large dent made in the earth from his landing. "We should probably clean this up. In case someone finds it in the morning."

I pursed my lips. He was trying to change the subject, avoid the topic of the tournament.

"Are you worried?" I asked him, ignoring his statement about the dent in the ground.

"About the hole?" He asked.

I rolled my eyes. "No. About the tournament."

Hiccup sighed. "I...yes. Yeah, I am."

"Why? I'm _almost_ certain you won't die." I teased, trying to ease some of the tension.

Hiccup gave a short laugh, but his smile faded quickly.

"It's not dying I'm afraid of, I've come close to that far too many times." He looked down at his foot, as though it were a reminder of what he had already been through. "It's the scroll, and the tournament and the secrets. I'm just-I'm afraid-"

"That it's all too much." I finished for him. He nodded.

We stayed silent for a few minutes. We enjoyed each others quiet company as we stared out into the open night, lost in a world of words and thoughts.

"Do you know where you have to be for the tournament?" I asked him.

Hiccup started a bit, before turning to face me. "Oh, uh, yes. We're meeting in a tent, in front of the quidditch pitch."

"We'll visit you before you go." I told him, referring to Jack, Punzie and I.

"I don't actually think that's allowed." He said, frowning slightly.

"Then we'll break the rules." I smirked.

"Breaking rules is what you and Jack do best." He considered.

I grinned, taking it as a compliment.

"You're not too bad at it either." I looked out across the field, to the castle. "It's past curfew, we better head inside."

Hiccup nodded. "First we have to fix this hole."

We both turned to look at the large hole in front of our feet.

"Any ideas?" I asked him.

"Nope."

_**Punzie POV**_

"So what do we do now?" I asked Jack.

He had just finished booby trapping Prof. Pitch's chair in the Great Hall while I kept watch. It had been exhilarating and the thrill of potentially being caught made it all the more fun.

"We hide until breakfast, then wait and enjoy." He grinned mischievously.

I grinned back at him, and cast one last look out the door into the dark hallways, illuminated only by the torches lining the walls.

"The coast is clear." I said to him. "Let's go!"

"Alright." Jack stood up and brushed his hands off, clearly proud of his work. "Let's find Merida and Hiccup."

He joined me in the doorway and we silently exited the Great Hall, creeping along the corridors silent as the ghosts that roamed these hallways. I looked left and right, not stopping as we silently made our way to Ravenclaw common room. As we neared the entrance, I heard the faint sound of muffled voices. Fearing a Professor could be patrolling the corridors, I held up a hand to Jack, telling him to stop.

Both of us stood still, eyes searching the hallway and ears straining for the slightest noise.

"But how could it hurt when you landed?" I could make out a feminine voice with a strong accent speaking. I sagged in relief. It was just Merida.

"I'm not invincible." I heard Hiccup say.

"What's the point then? Turning into a giant-"

"There's someone here." Hiccup shushed Merida. They fell silent and I gestured to Jack that the coast was clear. We both stepped out from behind the wall we were hiding behind and out into the torchlight of the castles hallways.

"Caught you." I heard Jack say behind me.

Merida spun around with a startled look on her face, while Hiccup was already looking at the spot where we were hiding.

"Why were you two hiding?" Hiccup asked.

I blushed slightly. "We were playing another prank."

"More pranks?" Merida asked. "I'm starting to think Jack's corrupting our Punzie."

"I wouldn't say corrupting." Jack said, walking casually towards the common room door. "I'm suggestively influencing her, through various fun activities."

"Making other people miserable through immature juvenile pranks. Doesn't that just scream fun?" Hiccup deadpanned.

We all walked up to the common room entrance and waited for the riddle to enter.

"A certain five letter word becomes shorter when you add two letters to it. What is the word?" The portrait asked.

I drew a complete blank. When two letters are added to a word, it becomes larger, so how could a word possibly become shorter? I looked to Merida and Jack who both looked as confused as I was. Barely a minute had passed when Hiccup spoke up.

"Short." He said. The woman in the portrait smiled kindly and nodded her head. The door swung open and we all walked in.

"Short?" I asked.

"It's five letters. Add an e and an r, two letters, and it becomes short-er." He explained.

I slowly nodded my head, fully understanding what Hiccup was saying. I had heard that riddle before, how could I have possibly forgotten the answer? It must have been because I was tired.

"That's confusing." Jack said.

"You're telling me." Merida scoffed. "Alright, how much longer until daybreak?"

Hiccup looked to the window and I looked at the old grandfather clock sitting in a dusty corner of the room.

"Four hours." Hiccup and I said at the same time. We both grinned and looked at each other, surprised.

"We should probably get some sleep." I said, feeling bone-tired myself.

"Well, I'm off." Jack said. "I'll see you guys tomorrow."

"I'll come with you. Gotta head back to our dorms. " Merida said. "Good luck tomorrow, Chief. Don't die." She grinned.

"I'll try." Hiccup said. He attempted to keep his tone light, but was still staring out the common rooms window.

Merida and I exchanged a look. Jack looked slightly confused at the silent communication going on between Merida and I. Eventually, they bid farewell and I was left alone in the common room, barely standing on my feet, but not waning to leave Hiccup alone to mull over his thoughts.

"You don't have to stay up with me, Rapunzel." He said gently.

"But you need to sleep." I protested.

"You need it more than I do." He grinned. "I'll be fine. Get some rest."

Too tired to protest, I nodded my consent and climbed the flight of stairs into the girls dormitories. I lay down in my bed without changing into my nightgown and fell asleep. I dreaedt of a snowy winter day in hogsmeade, a distant memory that brought a smile to my lips as I slept peacefully through the night.


	36. Chapter 36

**Alright huge apology! I forgot to tell you guys that I was going on vacation the last chapter, so sorry for making you all think I didn't have anything to update. I did, I swear, there just wasn't any wifi in the hotel. Anyways, here is the much anticipated update, so please enjoy! I'll try to update sooner this to make up for my forgetfulness.**

_**Hiccup POV**_

I stood inside a large tent, located just outside the entrance to the quidditch pitch. I was wearing standard uniform for the tournament, identical to the other competitiors except for the colours. Amélie wore a dark blue making her blonde hair appear lighter in the afternoon sun. Sean wore dark orange, making his light brown eyes appear almost black in comparison. I myself, wore a dark green, similar to Slytherin house's colour.

I was nervous, though it seemed I wasn't the only one. Sean paced nervously, waving his wand around recklessly, muttering under his breath all the while making me very wary. Amélie appeared calm, though I could tell from the rythmic tapping of her foot against the ground that nerves were getting to her too.

I sighed. I needed a distraction, something to do to keep my mind off the potentially deadly possibilities that lay beyond this tent. I was forced to leave my journal with my suit in my dorm room, along with my wand and any other possesions that weren't my sword. I crouched down to the soft dirt under my feet. I took the hilt of my sword and used the small point on the end of it to draw in the soil.

Without realising what I was doing, I began drawing Toothless. I went off of memory and began sketching. I used gentle lines for his face, and soft shading for his ears, careful to capture the innocent amusement that often lit up his face. With a few final touches I stood up, and my back brushed across something.

By instinct I stepped back, startled, and raised my sword hilt, though I didn't extend it. A shocked Amélie and Sean stood behind me.

"Sorry." I said. "Are you-"

"What is that?" Amélie asked, ignoring my apology.

"It's a dragon." I said. Had she never seen a dragon before?

"You're a good sketcher." Sean noted.

"It's not really sketching." I said. "I just draw, really."

"What kind of dragon is this?" Amélie asked. I noticed that she had a very faint french accent, barely detectable when she spoke. Only a few words gave her away, barely pronouncing the h's and slurring her s's.

"It's a native species to Berk, my village. This one's called a Night Fury, the offspring of lightning and death itself." I explained.

"It is not a bad sketch." She said.

"Why doesn't it have teeth?" Sean asked. "Don't they usually have those?"

"Uh, yes. It has teeth. They're retractable."

"When you say native to Berk, do they live on your island?" Amélie asked.

I wish. "No, definitely not. On Berk, they actually...uh, kill dragons."

"Why? Do they kill any of your people?" Sean asked.

I paused, a distant memory flashed through my mind. "They've killed hundreds of us, and we've killed thousands of them." I repeated quietly, reminded suddenly of my Dad and I's falling out over the summer.

"That's terrible." Amélie whispered.

I nodded mutely, the memory I had just conjured too painful to remember. I shook it from my mind, trying instead to focus on the first task ahead of me. I tucked that memory away, so I could brood on it later. It still lurked at the back of my mind, ready to reopen old wounds at the simplest mention of home.

"How are champions?" A booming voice announced from the entrance of the tent.

All three of us started suddenly, jittery from nerves. I took a deep breath, and braced myself.

"Afternoon meal has begun, and task is almost starting." North said. Amélie and Sean walked closer to North, but I lingered behind, rubbing the drawing of Toothless out of the dirt.

"Minister has come to tell of first task. Good luck champions, and do not become hurt, infirmary is almost full." He said. Then with a warm smile, North exited the tent, leaving us in silence.

"Was that supposed to scare us, or put us at ease?" I asked aloud.

I looked at Sean and Amélie, not sure what we were supposed to do now that North had left. Before one of us could speak, Minister Noman strode through the tent.

"Hello, hello competitors." He said with fake cheerfulness. With a settling feeling of dread, I noticed Mrs. Bonner following closely behind him with a quill and notepad.

"I hope you are all excited." He said. "We're here to first, get pre-task interviews, and then finally explain the highly anticipated task. So, who's first for the interviews?" He asked.

"I will go." Amélie said.

"Great." Mrs. Bonner said. "Amélie, darling, you can come over here with me, while you boys can go sit over there, in those chairs." She pointed to a set of old, rickety, wooden chairs that looked just as uncomfortable as the ones we had had to sit in during our first interviews.

Sean and I walked over to the chairs and eyed them warily, unsure whether they were stable enough to hold the bodyweight of a person. Answering my question, Sean sat down heavily in his and sighed. I assumed that since these chairs could hold Sean's weight, they could hold mine, considering I weighed a good 40 pounds less than him.

I sat down on the edge of mine and stared at the dirt in font of me, noticing the straggling pieces of grass poking out from the trodden ground. It seemed that Mrs. Bonner wanted a much more thorough interview done this time, as her questions for Amélie seemed to never end.

I sighed and leaned back in my chair, crossing my leg over my good knee. I fiddled idly with the hilt of my sword, bored out of my mind. It almost came to the point where I would have preferred being interviewed relentlessly by Mrs. Bonner than remain still in these insufferable chairs.

"Hiccup." I heard someone whisper harshly from the other side of the tent. I sat up straighter.

"Merida?" I whispered back, my head close to the battered material of the tent. "What are you doing?"

"I told you I'd come to visit before the task." She said.

"Oh." I said simply. "Are Jack and Rapunzel there?"

"No." She said. "They had to leave and cover for me."

"Breaking the rules again, Princess?" I asked.

"Course not, Chief." I could hear her mutter something under breath and heard a loud thump from the other side of the tent.

"This is ridiculous." I heard her say.

I pressed my head closer to the tents walls, trying to hear what was going on.

"Merida? What are you-" I was cut off when I felt the sensation of being ripped backwards.

With a solid landing, I was pulled backwards in my chair and landed on the hard ground outside, with Merida looking over me. I landed, no longer sitting in the chair, having rolled over onto my side the last possible second.

"That's better." She huffed.

I climbed to my feet slowly and brushed the dirt off my uniform.

"What do you think you're doing?" I asked her urgently. "If North catches me-"

"North's not going to catch you." She said. She grabbed the front of my shirt and pulled me forward. I was caught off guard as she kissed me, quick and hard. She pulled away and I was left dazed and confused.

"Merida..." I said.

"Don't die." She told me quietly. She turned me around abruptly and shoved me forward, towards the tent. I went flying off my feet and sprawled through the rough material of the tent. I landed in the dirt with the chair quickly following behind me, Merida having chucked it into the tent after throwing me off my feet.

I pulled myself into a standing position, and saw Sean on his feet as well, looking alarmed.

"What just happened?" He demanded, looking at me with wide eyes.

I stared at the side of the tent, were Merida had only moments ago pushed me through. Answering truthfully, I sighed and ran a hand through my hair.

"I'm not exactly sure myself."


	37. Chapter 37

**So, since the Triwizard tournament is happening, the next two chapters will be in Hiccup's POV, for obvious reasons. So, enjoy this chapter! I worked extra hard on it ;)**

_**Hiccup POV**_

My mind couldn't focus on anything, not even the mundane questions Mrs. Bonner was busy asking me at the moment. All throughout the interview, I had been answering questions wrong, making up answers, and was pretty sure I hadn't even answered half of them. To be honest, I didn't really care.

My mind kept replaying that moment over and over. Being pulled out of the tent, Merida, being pushed back in. It had all happened so quickly, I didn't even know how to react. I think the reason I was having trouble answering Mrs. Bonner's questions was because I had too many of my own.

"Alrighty then." I heard Mrs. Bonner huff. "We can continue the interviews after the first task. Good luck contestants." She sounded miffed by my failed interview, and forced herself to sound annoyingly bubbly. She stood and made her way to the back of the tent, taking long, stiff strides.

I stood from my uncomfortable chair and went to stand with the other contestants. Sean seemed very nervous, while Amélie appeared aloof and withdrawn, like she didn't want to associate herself with us. We all stood silently, watching the tent flap for when Minister Nomad would enter and inform us about the final task.

"Time to begin soon." Nomad announced as he strode into the tent. He appeared rushed, ready to begin the first task. He gestured for us to come in closer and we reluctantly stepped forward.

I cleared my mind of all thoughts of Merida, which had become increasingly difficult over the past few minutes. Now was the time to focus. The tournament has begun.

"I will now explain the first task, so listen close." He said. "Out on the quidditch pitch, is an object unique to you. You must go out there, one at a time to retrieve that item by any means necessary. Understand so far?" He asked.

We all nodded mutely, not trusting ourselves to speak at the moment.

"However, this is the triwizard tournament, so nothing is that easy. There will be a creature out there as well, each one chosen specifically to frighten you, or give you the most difficulty in retrieving your item. You have to defeat that creature and capture your item. Each one contains a clue for the next task, so I would treat it with care." He paused and looked around at us. "I wish you the best of luck, each one of you."

He straightened up and adjusted the black cap adorning his head. "You will be choosing numbers from a hat to determine who goes first. Good luck out there." He said. Then, he turned and left the tent without a second glance back at us.

Prof. Toothiana pushed her way into the tent just as the minister left, holding a hat with small pieces of paper in them.

"Hello, champions!" She said. "Are you excited?"

We remained silent.

"Okay then. Time to choose numbers." She said. She held the hat out to Amélie first, who took a slip of paper identical to the others without hesitation. Sean stuck his hand into the hat and pulled out a slip, leaving me with no options but to choose the last remaining piece of parchment.

"Try your best out there." Prof. Toothiana said. "I'm proud of all of you."

She looked at me pointedly, and I was taken aback slightly. Was she bluffing with me? Could she sincerely be proud of me, even when I was the one of the prophecy, a threat to the Guardians? My head spun. It was too much all at once, I was struggling to wrap my mind around all of it.

"I'm first." Sean said beside me. He set his jaw and turned to face the back entrance of the tent. I opened my own paper and looked up at Amélie.

"I am second." She said. She straightened and crumpled her piece of paper.

"I guess I'm last then." I muttered. I didn't crumple my paper, or throw it away. Instead, I smoothed it out and placed it in my pocket, whether for safe keeping or some other reason, I don't know.

"Please welcome first contestant to arena!" I heard Prof. North's voice ring out across the stadium, only slightly muffled by the thick cloth of the tent.

Sean took a deep breath a pushed aside the flap that covered the entrance to the stadium. The crowd exploded with cheers, everyone anxious to begin the first task.

Everyone but me.

More cheering could be heard from outside of the tent, the crowd encouraging Amélie as she faced a danger unknown to me. I sat alone in the tent, with nothing to occupy me but my thoughts.

I tapped my fingers against my thigh relentlessly, too worried to care about much else other than the first task. What was waiting for me beyond this tent? A basilisk? Dementor? Acromantula? The possibilities were endless, and so were the dangers.

"Time for final contestant." North's voice rang out over the loud stadium, still cheering after Amélie's performance.

I stood slowly and swallowed, taking my time to reach the exit of the tent. It was time for the first task. I grasped the rough fabric beneath my fingertips and pulled it aside, revealing a huge crowd seated in the quidditch stands, and a blazing sun covering everything in golden light.

Noise exploded around me as cheers rang out across the quidditch pitch. I dropped the edge of fabric from my grasp and faced a large door, seemingly conjured out of nowhere for the purposes of this task. My eyes did a quick scan of the crowd, and I could quickly pick out my friends among them. Rapunzel waved small flags in the air while Jack and Merida settled for cheering with the rest of the school.

I looked up to the teachers box and saw the Ministry officials, as well as Noman sitting with North, who gazed down sternly from his chair. I took a deep breath once more and scanned my surroundings. There. Something was gleaming in the sunlight, something round and polished. I took a few steps closer to the object, sure it was meant for me, when a loud clanging of metal could be heard.

My head snapped up to the large door as it slowly opened. I prepared myself for whatever was about to come through those doors. I raised my sword and extended it, setting the blade aflame. I took a deep breath as the doors finally opened all the way to reveal a...

"Dragon." I said. I stood up straighter. "A dragon."

The large Monstrous Nightmare burst forward, setting itself aflame and roaring loudly amidst the screams and startled gasps of the crowd. It was a fiery red, brighter than most on Berk, speckled with dark brown and yellow spots. It's large hooked maw opened wide as it roared yet again.

I almost grinned. It was a dragon. I could do dragons.

I retracted the blade of my sword and extinguished the blade. I began waving my arms above my head to get the dragons attention. It saw me and lowered it's head closer to the ground, growling loudly. I heard the crowd gasp and I lowered my hands. I took a few cautious steps forward.

I held the hilt of my sword out in front of me, and made a point of throwing it aside, showing the dragon I meant no harm. It stopped growling, though it's pupils were still dilated. I took another deep breath and continued walking forward, holding a single hand out in front of me.

"Hey, it's alright." I said quietly. "Let's not freak out, okay? I'd like to make it out of this alive. Easy now."

I stepped closer and stopped, allowing the dragon to approach me in it's own time. It began walking forward, eyeing me carefully. Eventually, it stood only a few steps in front of me, so close I could hear it breathing. I lowered my head and closed my eyes.

This was the moment of truth, whether it would choose to trust me or not. I felt as though we stood there for minutes, even though it was mere seconds. I tensed up, knowing that if this lasted any longer it would have to come to a fight.

I heard a faint rustling and felt warm, rough scales press against my hand. I sighed in relief. I looked up and met the dragons eyes. The crowd was silent, as was the dragon.

"Good job." I told it. I began scratching it, and could see it relax instantly, loving the feeling of warm hands scratching at it's itchy scales. I reached further back until finally, I found the small pressure plate behind it's jaw bone. Right...there.

With a single scratch, the dragon was out like a light, collapsed in a giant, scaly pile of pure bliss on the ground.

I smiled and looked over to the object I had seen glinting on the ground in the far right corner of the stadium. I cast a final look at the dragon and walked over to it. When I finally got close enough to make out the object, I was reluctant to pick it up.

It was a shield. A Viking shield, painted with Berk's crest.

Homesickness twisted through my chest and I grimaced, like it physically hurt me. I was reminded of everything I had ever gone through on that island, my life before and after Hogwarts. I couldn't help but feel slightly guilty, if not frightened by what this meant. I took a deep breath.

I looked up to the teachers box, and met the bright blue eyes of North. He had put this shield here purposefully, I knew it. Showing him I was not to be intimidated by a mere shield, I picked it up and strapped it to my arm. I walked careful, measured steps to the center of the arena, where the Monstrous Nightmare had begun to stir.

It stood slowly and I scratched it absentmindedly.

"That is end of first task." North announced to the crowd. "Final tally of scores will be now."

The other two victors emerged from a separate entrance to the arena, and I vaguely wondered how many the quidditch pitch actually had. They froze upon seeing the dragon but I gestured them forwards, while keeping a steadying hand on the Nightmare.

As I suspected, Amélie came first, with Sean lagging behind. She walked as close as she dared and even then, it was more than 20 meters away. The ends of her hair looked singed, and I wondered what the creature she had had to face was.

She clasped a silver dagger in her hands, and I was curious as to what it meant to her. Sean looked to be in better shape, though there were several scratches on his hands. He held a staff, not as large as Jack's, but made of a light brown wood, carved with swirling designs.

"3rd place" North said, his voice amplified by magic. "Is..." The crowd fell silent. "Sean Trelliem!"

Cheers went up among the crowd, most of the noise coming from the Hufflepuffs.

"And 2nd place winner is..." North paused for suspense. "Amélie Declan Dupoint!"

I froze. That couldn't be true. No. Surely Amélie had done better than me, I did nothing. All I did was calm down a dragon. That wasn't anything special, I had done it so many times before-

"Our winner is Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III!" He announced. I couldn't tell whether his enthusiasm was real or forced.

My mind was reeling. I had won? I had won!

I grinned, and searched the many faces for my friends. I spotted them instantly, remembering where they sat among the crowd. The noise was deafening. Never before had I been cheered on like this.

I looked over to Amélie and Sean. Amélie looked slightly angry, and Sean just looked disappointed.

I looked at the dragon, who was being led away calmly by someone with red hair and a bright blue uniform. I think these were the dragon trainers from Romania, though I wasn't sure. As long as they didn't hurt the dragon...

I looked over to the other competitors again, still trying to wrap my mind around what exactly had happened today. I saw Noman, ushering us towards the back door of the arena. With a final glance towards the still cheering crowd, I was whisked away to once again be interviewed, though this time as the victor of the first task.


	38. Chapter 38

**Well, I think it's safe to say you guys are anxious for another chapter, so here it is. Sorry I haven't updated in a while, but I've been busy with back to school preparation and last minute family events. Why must all weddings happen within the same week? Anyways, here is the much awaited, follow-up chapter to the triwizard tournament. Enjoy!**

**_Hiccup POV_**

I strode out of the large brown tent with quick footsteps. The fields were abandoned, with only torn up pieces of turf and footprints left behind. The students had returned to the castle.

I breathed in a breath of fresh air. The tent had been stuffy, and the people swarming through it, asking questions and taking pictures, had been suffocating.

I looked up at the evening sky. I hadn't realized how late it had become, it was almost curfew. I needed to return to the castle, but was reluctant to do so, knowing only more suffocating people and endless questions lay ahead of me.

I sighed and looked down at the Viking shield strapped to my arm. I remembered how this very shield had nearly been the size of me, and now, I was twice the size of it. I felt no nostalgia, only a small aching in my heart when I looked at the shield. It was so familiar to me, but so distant at the same time.

I wasn't a warrior. The feeling of a wooden grip in my hand was foreign, and the heavy metal of armor wasn't made for my skinny frame. I was never born to carry a shield on my arm and an ax in the other. I am not a warrior, I never was nor ever will I be.

My entire life had been a foreign concept to me. An idea too difficult to grasp, a thought too fleeting to remember. The only thing I could understand were schematics and blueprints, orders from others, the heat of a fire in the forge as I worked each day in the hope of proving I wasn't useless.

Until I came here, to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Here was where I could succeed, where I didn't have to be the strongest or the toughest in battle, but simply a quick-thinking boy. Where I excelled instead of failed. I had escaped my fate as a doomed blacksmith and earned a new one, as a bright student and cherished friend.

This fate was one I could accept.

As I continued walking towards the castle, these thoughts swirled through my mind as I entered the large stone building. A few people congratulated me in the hallways, and I greeted them with stiff nods and quiet 'thank you's'. Clearing my mind, I had only one thought left to worry about; I needed to find Merida.

I walked past the boisterous Great Hall, where students still lingered even as dinner had finished. I paid them no heed as I continued towards Gryffindor common room, knowing Ravenclaw would be too over-crowded.

The woman in the portrait disguising the entrance to the common room was missing. I frowned. The Fat Lady was always in her portrait unless something important had happened. Where could she be?

I tapped the frame of the painting and the door swung open with a non-verbal unlocking spell. I entered the common room, eyes searching the thin crowd for my friends. Several shocked faces turned my way, as though they couldn't believe I was standing there.

Reluctantly, a few claps sprang up across the room. I gave a weak grin and an even weaker nod. I turned to a young first year staring up at me. I bent down slightly, resting my shield on the ground as I addressed the small brunette.

"Have you seen Merida Dun'Broch? Bright red hair, Gryffindor?" I asked her. She nodded silently.

"Where did you see her?" I asked.

"She was in the Great Hall." She told me, her voice ringing with an odd accent. It sounded European, though I wasn't sure where it came from. "Sitting with the Ravenclaws."

"Thanks." I smiled at her. I stood and exited the common room.

I took the moving staircase two steps at a time, careful to slow down when reaching the landings, which enjoyed changing directions every few seconds. I reached the bottom and continued walking towards the Great Hall. I should have checked inside before going straight to the Gryffindor common room.

I reached the large double doors and walked inside. There was no one inside but a few house elfs, cleaning up after this night's feast. I sighed. This felt like a wild goose chase.

"Are you looking for your friends?" Someone said behind me.

I turned around and came face to face with none other than Malum Puer. I looked away and adjusted the straps on the shield.

I decided not to say anything.

"Don't you ever feel out of place when around them? Like you don't belong?" He asked, malice dripping from his voice. "A single mudblood, surrounded by prestigious purebloods?"

I turned around and exited the Great Hall, trying my best to block out his harmful words.

"I would personally." He sneered. "Though I suppose you're used to being out of place."

I set my jaw. Malum wasn't a stupid bully, unfortunately. He was cunning, true to his house's nature. He thought his words through, and each of them was purposeful, a perfectly placed blow every time.

"It seems ironic, that you carry that shield upon your arm." He said, he walked beside and it took every ounce of willpower I had not to send him flying across the hallway with a jinx.

"Never a proper Viking, still not a proper Viking. You're not even a proper wizard!" He said.

I flinched at his words. They held truth, the sharpest jab of them all.

"What do you want, Malum?" I managed to say.

"I want nothing, Haddock, but to congratulate you on your victory." He lingered on the last word. "Have a good night." He turned and walked away, down the east corridor, making his way to Slytherin common room.

I let out a breath once I saw him disappear around the corner, out of sight at last. I looked down the shield and felt guilt. Guilt and betrayal and an array of emotions I couldn't even begin to understand.

I pulled the shield off my arm, holding it in my grasp instead. This crudely made disk of wood and metal had comforted me earlier, reminding me of home. Now, this shield painted simply with war decorations, had stirred up so much tumult within me I no longer felt excited from my victory of the first task.

I climbed the staircase up to Ravenclaw tower, finally arriving at the entrance. I was reluctant to enter, however, Malum's earlier words having done a number on my confidence.

"Who makes it, has no need of it. Who buys it, has no use for it. Who uses it can neither see nor feel it. What is it?" The portrait of the Lady in Blue asked me.

I stayed silent, lost in thought. The last line held the key, I knew it. See nor feel it... The only way you couldn't see nor feel it is if you were dead. The only thing a dead man needs would be a pyre. But this wasn't Berk, the countries a little further south normally didn't use pyres. They used-

"Coffins." I said aloud. "A coffin."

The Lady In Blue smiled kindly and the door swung open. Surprisingly, the common room was near empty, except for a few stragglers and a group of three people seated near the fire. I walked over to the large sofa directly in front of the warmly lit hearth.

"Hiccup!" Punzie was the first to greet me. "You won!" She sounded like she couldn't believe it herself.

"Yeah-yeah, I mean, that's great." I said, not completely focused on the fact I had just done the impossible.

"That was amazing! The dragon just... collapsed." Jack said. He perched atop the back of an ornate wooden chair. For some reason he never actually sat down somewhere, he was always perched upon something.

Merida stood from the couch and flung her arms around my neck. Startled, I took a step backwards, still not completely certain what was going on between us.

"You didn't die." She whispered in my ear. She pulled away beaming.

"I didn't die."


	39. New ROTBTD story!

Once upon a time, I promised myself I wouldn't be that author who updates a story with a PSA. It is a dark day for me, for sadly, I have become one of said writers. Although I am breaking my vow, I am breaking it for the greater good.

This announcement is to alert my dear readers of my new ROTBTD story, a brand new au! The first chapter has already been posted, and I am excited to see what you guys think about it, if you decide to check it out. I have worked very hard in writing the first few chapters of this new story, and I'm hoping my hard work will soon pay off!

So please, take a look at the first chapter when you get the chance. It would mean a lot to me!

P.S. I'll be updating The Old Norse Scroll (TONS...?) soon, so don't worry! I haven't forgotten about it, but back to school preparations are consuming a bit too much of my free time.


	40. Chapter 40

**I feel like I'm falling into the same pattern over and over again... I take yet another eternity since I've last posted a chapter, then I apologize for doing so, and then I say I hope you enjoy. Meh. Whatever works, right? Here goes...**

**It's been forever since I've last posted, sorry, enjoy!**

_**Merida POV**_

I lay on the large blue couch in the Ravenclaw common room, Hiccup laying on the floor directly underneath me. We had been talking for a while in easy camaraderie. Hiccup had insisted he was perfectly fine on the ground, telling me he had slept in much worse places before. I had offered him a place beside me, but he had blushed profusely and declined.

The fire had died out, and we lay in the muted darkness of the night. A small chill crept through the room and I shivered slightly.

"Do you want me to light the fire again?" Hiccup mumbled from the floor.

I grinned to myself.

"I'm fine." I whispered back. "Just a little chilly. We've had a lot worse in Scotland."

Hiccup gave out a small chuckle and the fire roared to life. I had to admit, wandless magic was really cool. Maybe I could convince him to teach me one day...

"You've obviously never experienced a Berk winter before."

I smiled.

"Hiccup?" I asked.

"Yes?" He asked, if somewhat reluctantly.

"Tell me something about Berk. What's it like there?" I asked.

He remained silent for a few moments. He sighed and rolled over to lay on his back, arms behind his head, staring up at the intricate ceiling.

"It snows nine months of the year, and hails the other three." He droned sarcastically. "It's twelve days north of Hopeless, a few degrees south of Freezing to Death, and is located solidly on the Meridian of Misery."

I let out a quiet laugh. I cast a look over the edge of the couch to see Hiccup grinning as well, though his eyes remained distant and lost.

"Any food that grows there is bland and tasteless, the people even more so." He continued with his act of dry sarcasm, knowing I found it amusing. "The only down side is the pests. While some places have mice or rats, we have..."

"Dragons." We whispered together.

He nodded silently.

"How's Toothless?" I asked, knowing the Tournament had probably been occupying the majority of his time, therefore taking away any flying time they had together.

"He's not loving the fact that I'm back at school, but he doesn't mind. As long as he gets fed, he's content."

"We should go flying again." I said. "I'll ride Toothless, and you can fly beside us in your beastie form."

"What makes you think you're allowed to ride my dragon?" Hiccup asked, his tone mock-accusing.

"Can I ride you, then?" I asked.

"Wha-? Uh, no, no you can not ride me." He spluttered, absolutely set against the idea of me riding him.

"Why not? We could do cool flips in the air, or fly really fast." I said.

"Yeah, right." He said. Even though I couldn't see his face, I swear I could picture him rolling his eyes. "We'd have to make a saddle, I guess, so you wouldn't fall off-"

"So you're considering it?" I asked.

"No." He said stubbornly.

I sighed, and silence filled the room.

"It's past midnight." Hiccup stated.

"I've noticed." I drawled.

"You should probably sleep." He said.

"What about you?" It seemed like he never slept, and I wondered how he managed to survive classes during the day.

Hiccup hesitated. "There was...a shadow earlier, in the forest." He said quietly.

"Oh." I said. I guessed the energy he absorbed from these...shadow creatures fueled him. It was kind of creepy, to be honest, not having to sleep or eat to be able to function.

We sat for a few moments in uncomfortable silence.

"Sleep, Merida." He said finally.

Too tired to really argue, I mumbled some half-hearted excuse and rolled over.

"You have to wake me up before dawn." I told him. If the other students woke up to find me sleeping on the couch, I didn't know what I would do. Probably punch the first one that mocked me.

"Fine. Go to sleep, Merida. You need it." He prompted gently.

"Alright, alright. Calm down, Viking." I flashed a quick grin.

"Go to sleep, Princess." He continued.

"Goodnight, Fishbone."

"Goodnight, Highness." He said quietly.

I closed my eyes, a smile gently making it's way onto my face as I thought of what had happened the past hour. I was happy, something I had not been for a long time. With a small spark of recognition, I realized that Hiccup was the reason I was happy.

_**Rapunzel POV**_

I was sitting in Gryffindor common room, having waited more than 10 minutes for Jack to descend the stairs so we could head to breakfast and meet up with Hiccup and Merida. He always seemed to wait until the last moment before getting anywhere. I didn't mind though, as long as we weren't late.

"Hey Punz." He said. He took the steps two at a time, his cloak swirling about his shoulders as he flew down the staircase.

"You're late, Jack." I said.

"Being late is my specialty." He quipped.

"I thought your specialty was causing mischief." I said.

"I am a master of many things." He winked at me and I grinned back.

We walked side by side as we made our way to the Great Hall. When we finally reached the large oak doors, we shared a final laugh and made our way over to Gryffindor table to find Merida and Hiccup.

Jack swung a leg over the bench, sitting across from our two friends. I slid in beside him.

"Woah, Merida. You look like you did't sleep at all." Jack said.

"Jack!" I exclaimed. "That's not very nice."

He just shrugged.

"That's cause I was woken up at dawn." Merida grumbled.

"You asked me to wake you up early." Hiccup defended.

"It would have been nice to get a few hours of sleep." Merida continued.

"Sleep's over rated." Hiccup gave a lopsided grin.

"Oh, Shut it Viking." Merida muttered.

"With pleasure, Princess." Hiccup gave a cheeky grin.

I smiled. Early mornings were the best for conversations. Just as I was about to comment on the current situation, a group of noisy 4th years walked by, cutting us off as we tried to continue speaking above their voices.

"Congrats, Haddock." One of them called out as they passed by. The others cheered their approval.

Hiccup looked slightly uncomfortable and nodded his head in acknowledgement. I could barely hear him mutter something, more than likely a thanks. He hung his head slightly, seeming suddenly interested in a knot in the wood. He scratched at it with his fingernail.

"Looks like Hiccup's a celebrity now." Jack said in a sing-song voice.

"I'm not a celebrity." Hiccup mumbled. "All I did was put a dragon to sleep."

"Hiccup, you're the victor of the first task, that's a big deal." I encouraged him.

Hiccup sighed and leaned back on the bench, staring mutely at the table.

I looked over to Merida, who seemed half asleep as she mutely ate her breakfast.

"Hey Sleeping Beauty, you awake?" Jack teased, prodding her gently with his fork.

Merida shot him a glare and swatted the utensil away.

"You're so bloody hilarious, Frost." She grumbled.

Jack laughed, finding enjoyment in her reaction.

It seemed that there was a lull of silence across the Great Hall, like a wave of quiet had passed over our heads. We all shared confused glances. Why was everyone quiet so suddenly? I looked up to the front of the room. No one stood at the speakers podium.

Jack frowned and made a move to stand up so he could see better. I placed a hand on his arm and shook my head. I pointed to the large oak doors leading into the Great Hall. Everyone's heads swiveled towards the back of the room.

There, about a dozen ministry officials stood. They appeared very professional in their uniforms and freshly pressed cloaks. The teachers all stood, and Prof. North addressed the newcomers.

"What is purpose for visit?" He asked them, his deep voice and rough accent cutting through the silence.

"We would like to have a private conversation with you and your head professors." An old man with a British accent stated. He appeared to be the leader of this strange group of officials.

"What is reason?" Prof. North asked.

"We would prefer to discuss it in... private quarters." The man said, casting a disapproving glance around the room.

North frowned, but nodded his approval.

"We can use office. Come." He said.

The Guardians all stood and made their way towards the large wooden doors, all of them exchanging curious glances with one another.

"Students have rest of morning off." Pro. North called out.

There were a few whispered words exchanged among the students, and Jack grinned like a maniac.

"No potions!" He said, sounding like Christmas had come early this year.

I frowned slightly. The hall gradually grew louder with noise, as students stood and began making their way out of the room. Eventually, we were one of the very few left.

"No potions! This is great! What do you guys want to do?" Jack asked.

An idea struck me.

"Hiccup, is Toothless here?" I asked the green-eyed teen.

"Uh, what? I wasn't... listening. Sorry." Hiccup replied. He appeared distant. I figured he was deep in though at the moment. Merida nudged him and he seemed to finally awaken from his stupor.

"Uh, yes. Toothless is here. Well, not here, but... here." Hiccup stammered.

"Can we visit him?" I asked.

"I'm sure he wouldn't mind." Hiccup gave a small lopsided grin.

"We should bring the poor beastie some fish." Merida suggested as she stood. "He's probably all lonely in that creepy forest."

"We went hunting this morning." Hiccup said. "Any more fish and he'll become too fat to fly."

"This morning?" I asked. He would have had to be awake at a very early hour to slip away unnoticed.

"Do you ever sleep?" Jack asked, his words echoing what I had been thinking.

"Not often." Hiccup shrugged.

"How do you make it through classes without dying from exhaustion?" Jack asked. "I barely manage and I sleep the majority of the day."

"I actually work on my assignments." Hiccup deadpanned. "You should try it, it might actually get you somewhere."

Jack waved a hand, dismissing the idea.

"Work's no fun." He told us. "I should know, I am the Guardian of Fun."

Merida stood and scoffed.

"Whatever you say, Guardian of Fun." She told him. "Now let's go have some actual fun and visit the poor beastie in the forest."


	41. Chapter 41

**And yet another incredibly long wait for the next chapter. Sorry you guys, I never mean to take so long with the updates, it often just slips my mind... Thanks for all the reviews encouraging me to continue updating! It's what motivated me to write this chapter. The next one's being written as we speak. Read on, and enjoy!**

_**Merida POV**_

"Just...wait here for a second." Hiccup instructed us. He took a few steps forward, then disappeared, quite literally.

"Hiccup?" Punzie asked, looking around her.

"Where'd he go?" Jack mumbled.

I focused more intently on the spot where I had last seen Hiccup disappear. There. A small waver in the air. I reached a hand forward, as though the disruptance I had seen was an actual, physical thing I could have grab hold of. My hand passed through nothing, and I felt a little dumb for thinking there was something there.

The air shimmered all around us, and I heard Punzie gasp. Suddenly, the cove appeared in front of us, as did Hiccup.

"Woah." Jack said.

I nodded in agreement. I stepped forwards reluctantly.

"What was that?" I asked Hiccup.

"Protection barrier." He explained simply.

"Where's Toothless?" Punzie asked.

"Behind you." Hiccup grinned.

I turned around and smiled. Toothless was sitting in the sunlight, with eyes the size of saucers. He padded forwards, but stopped when he caught sight of Jack. His eyes narrowed slightly, and he struck up a faint growl.

"Hello, beastie." I said. I walked up to him and began scratching him behind the ear. He instantly relaxed and leaned into my hand, enjoying the pampering.

"Aw." I heard Punzie say. "He's adorable."

"And deadly." Jack muttered from behind me. I turned and shot him a glare.

Hiccup approached Toothless and gave him a quick pat. Toothless acknoledged him with a croon, and nudged him with his head, pushing Hiccup back a step.

"Give me your hand." He prompted Punzie.

Punzie looked slightly confused before extending her hand towards him. He took her wrist and pulled it gently towards Toothless. With only slight hesitation, Toothless leant forwards, pressing his nose into her hand.

Hiccup stepped away and gestured for Jack to come forwards.

"I'm not holding your hand." Jack said, crossing his arms.

Hiccup scoffed. "Just come here."

Jack approached hesitantly, and Toothless began growling quietly.

"Toothless... easy." Hiccup said as a warning. He grabbed Jack's arm and directed it towards Toothless. The dragon narrowed his eyes at the white-haired boy. "Close your eyes, Jack." Hiccup ordered softly.

Jack looked slightly panicked at the thought, but nodded and did as he was told. Punzie and I had already distanced ourselves from the trio, a little wary of the outcome. The forest had gone awfully silent, with only the sound of the wind ruffling through the trees filling the silence.

"We can trust him, bud." Hiccup said, casting a small look towards Jack.

I couldn't tell what Hiccup ws thinking, but I could tell he was weighing his words, trying to determine if what he had just said were true. Finally, I saw him set his jaw and look back to Toothless, assuredness in his gaze.

With great reluctance and a large amount of urging from Hiccup, Toothless finally leaned forwards and placed his nose in Jack's palm. Jack gasped and opened his eyes, before Toothless pulled his head back, shaking it slightly.

"Wow." Jack breathed.

Toothless snorted then walked away from Jack. He leaped over to Hiccup, nudging him with his head and giving him a quick lick. Hiccup looked disgusted, though based on the easy way he took it, I was going to guess this wasn't the first time it had happened.

"Ugh. Toothless, really?" Hiccup asked wiping the dragon saliva off of his school robes.

"Can we go flying?" Punzie asked. Hiccup looked over to Toothless, who crooned and wagged his tail around excitedly.

"He can only carry two people at a time." Hiccup informed us.

"We could go one at a time." Punzie suggested brightly.

"It's alright, Punz." Jack said. "No offense, but I don't really trust the dragon to catch me if I fall."

Toothless snorted, like he was agreeing with what Jack had said. Hiccup cast both of them a disapproving look but didn't say anything on the matter. I saw him checking over the riding equipment as he spoke.

"Alright." Hiccup announced, shedding his large cloak, revealing his uniform underneath. "Who's first?" He asked.

I grinned. "Go ahead Punzie." I told her.

Punzie gave a small nod and walked over to Hiccup, who now sat atop Toothless, extending a hand to help her climb up onto the back of the magnificent dragon.

"Hold on tight." Hiccup told her as she wrapped her arms around his middle.

"Toothless. Gentle." Hiccup ordered. Toothless snorted and launched into the air, Punzie letting out a shriek at the sudden ascent.

_**Jack POV**_

I sat with my legs dangling over the edge of a thick tree limb, located at the edge of the cove. I swung my staff about me, bored. Hiccup and Rapunzel had taken off nearly ten minutes ago, and had left Merida and I to sit around and wait.

"They're taking forever." I groaned. "Do you think we should go find them?"

Merida scoffed, opening her eyes from where she tried to sleep, under a weeping willow tree. The leaves flowed gently through the wind, creating a beautiful scene if not for the disgruntled red-haired teen sitting beneath it.

"Relax, snowflake. The beastie's not going to eat your precious Punzie." She mocked, a look of twisted glee on her face.

I felt my cheeks go slightly warm. "I wasn't- I meant that they're taking forever to get back." I covered, almost wincing at how pathetic it sounded.

"Oh, poor Frosty, having to wait a couple of minutes." She mocked.

Was that a challenge I smelled? I smiled and jumped from the tree, landing agily on the ground. I was bored, and was looking for something to do, and a vivid argument with Merida seemed like a great way to pass time.

"You wanna go, Princess?" I asked, provoking her into the same bored frenzy I had already reached.

Merida stood. "I thought I told you to quit calling me Princess."

"Sorry, your highness." I teased, striding closer to her, a playful smile plastered on my face.

"Oh, it's on." She muttered. She rolled up the sleeves of her shirt, crossing her arms in a defiant position.

My guess was she was looking for a way to pass time as well, and she enjoyed a little battle just as much as I did, at least until I pushed a little too far. Then it turned violent, and compared to her hard-packed punches and well-aimed kicks, I wasn't much of a match. I straightened up and attempted at my very best Scottish accent.

"Mah name is Merida DoonBroch, and Ah'm a wee little princess. Ah love too shoot arrows off into tha soonset and let ma hair flow in tha wind." I mocked. It was a weak impression, but it did as it was intended to do; anger Merida.

"I'm Jack Frost, and I'm a precious little winter sprite who loves to spread cheer and dainty little snowflakes using my decorative stick. I like to prance around without shoes, and cause mischief." She mocked.

I let out a short laugh.

"Hairbrushes doonae make any sense ta me." I teased, running a hand through my imaginary hair.

"Ooh, you're done for, Frosty." She said. I leapt away, and before Merida could lunge forwards, a large beast landed abruptly onto the ground, seperating us before Merida could throw the first punch.

"You guys weren't fighting, were you?" Hiccup droned, already knowing the answer.

"Course not." I said, swinging my staff up to rest comfortably on my shoulder.

"We weren't fighting." Merida said. "We were having a nice little chat. Right, Snowflake?"

"Sure, Princess." I grinned. "Whatever you say."

Hiccup sighed and jumped down from the saddle. Rapunzel remained sitting, staring at Toothless's head, looking a little shocked.

"Hey, Punz?" I asked. I walked closer to her, careful of the dragon who eyed me warily. She looked a little confused, like she wasn't sure how to react. She suddenly gave a huge smile and climbed down from Toothless.

"That was amazing! The sun was so bright, and the clouds were beautiful and fluffy." She said it all in one breath. "But it was also so high up, and we could have fallen, or gotten hurt. I want to go again, but I really shouldn't."

I frowned slightly. "I can't help but notice you seem a little at war with yourself."

She sighed wistfully and scratched Toothless under his chin. Both of them looked relaxed and happy.

"Thank you, Toothless, that was amazing." She told him. Toothless purred in happiness.

I still thought that a dragon purring was an absurd concept, but apparently no one else thought it a little weird. I looked to Rapunzel, who absolutely beamed with beauty. The sun hit her face in gentle waves, and her eyes sparkled with awe. I tore my gaze away rom her before it was too late, and squinted up at the sky, noticing how it was almost the afternoon.

"When does midday meal start?" I asked.

"Midday." Hiccup quipped sarcastically.

"Thanks, Horrendous." I rolled my eyes.

Hiccup tried to look serious, but cracked a smile anyways.

"I'm trying to gage how much time we have until classes start." I explained, dreading the moment when we had to return back to the stuffy classroms to work on boring assingments.

"Classes aren't that bad, Jack." Rapunzel said, looking pointedly at me.

"It would help if he'd actually study, or do actual work." Hiccup said, his tone unimpressed.

I scoffed. "Actual works no fun."

Merida grinned. "Have to agree with Frosty for once."

I gasped dramatically, putting on a show. "Merida agrees? With me?"

Merida rolled her eyes.

"The only time. Ever." She told me.

"I'll take what I can get." I shrugged, grinning.

We grew silent for a moment, and only the sound of Hiccup timkering with Toothless's equipment could be heard.

"We really should head back." Punzie said timidly.

"Punzie's right." Merida said. "Besides, I'm hungry."

"Let's go then." I announced, turning around, searching for an exit. I spotted the trail we had taken and set off towards the castle. Slowly, everyone began to follow me, and we left the cove.

"See you later, bud." Hiccup told Toothless, who warbled in response. "We'll go flying tonight. Promise."


	42. Chapter 42

**Another update! Sorry this one took so long, but I had some stuff going on that took priority over fanfic. If you guys ever have questions or concerns, or are just feeling generous, review! I love reading any messages or thoughts or even criticism you guys have for me, even if it's just another 'update soon'. Sometimes, those are the best, cause they remind me I need to keep writing. Maybe that way the next chapter won't take a month to update.**

**Anyways, here's the new chapter. Enjoy!**

_Hiccup POV_

We sat in the Great Hall, the large room buzzing with noise and excited chatter. Apparently, the event from this morning was still the big story, as students all around us couldn't stop talking about it.

"I have to admit, I am curious why some stuffy old officials just barged in, unannounced." Jack said, while tearing a piece of bread off with his hands, popping it into his mouth.

Rapunzel, who sat across from Merida and I, nodded.

"What if something important happened?" She asked, eyes bright with excited energy and slight undertones of worry.

"If it was important, then they would have told us." Merida said nonchalantly, clearly not all that concerned on the matter.

"Let's just hope it's not anything serious." Rapunzel said.

I nodded silently. I looked up to the teachers table, and noticed that the Guardians had returned to their normal places, including North, who looked more serious than I thought I had ever seen him. I saw him stand slowly, and plaster a joyous expression on his face, one that was tough to pull off with his size and stature.

"Attention, students." Came his booming voice, needing no volume-increasing spell to ring across the Great Hall. The crowd was easy to silence, because everyone was already anticipating news from the headmaster.

"Next task for tournament is long time away." He told us. "But, teachers have decided to hold new event halfway, which is in few nights."

The crowd, surprisingly, remained silent.

"Easter is soon, two weeks from tonight, and Professor Bunnymund would like to hold celebration. However, celebration he has suggested does not sound very... fun. Instead, teachers have agreed to hold Easter Ball in place!"

At this a chorus of moans rang out a cross the room, mixing with the excited whispers of others. I looked at my friends, gauging their reactions. Jack and Merida both looked equally mortified and appalled, while Rapunzel looked absolutely thrilled.

"All sixth and seventh years must attend." At this, a chorus of objection rose up, including two loud yells of protest from Jack and Merida. "Champions must wear traditional dress, and must be on time, because spotlight dances start the ball."

"Oh Gods." I muttered, feeling the colour draining from my face.

A dance? I couldn't dance! I could barely walk properly, and they were expecting me to be in a spotlight dance? I groaned and hung my head. I could already picture the embarrassment, and it was burning a hole right through me.

North stepped down from the podium, and the food from the tables disappeared, dismissing the students. Jack and Merida sat down heavily in their seats, and almost instantly, Rapunzel tried to lighten up the mood.

"Come on you guys." She prompted. "It'll be fun! Can't you just imagine it?"

"I can." Merida muttered. I had a feeling she wasn't imagining it the same way Rapunzel was.

"Just think of it on the bright side." Rapunzel said brightly, not allowing our heavy moods to weigh down on her.

"Yeah." Jack agreed suddenly, his face brightening. "We get to see Hiccup waltz."

Merida couldn't help but crack a grin at my expense.

"We get to see Jack in dress robes." I quipped.

At this, Merida couldn't help but laugh, and Jack's easy grin faded slightly.

"We get to see Merida in a gown." Jack said.

Merida stopped laughing and placed a well aimed punch on Jack's arm. I winced, knowing from experience that Merida's punches hurt.

"You guys are thinking about it all wrong." Rapunzel insisted, standing up from the bench.

"That's the thing, Rapunzel." We all followed suit, standing slowly from our seats. "I'm trying not to think about it."

"But it's going to be a magical night, filled with music, and lights, and lovely couples dancing into the night, the sky filled with twinkling stars. Oh, it's going to be wonderful."

"It's going to be something, and wonderful wasn't the word I was thinking of." Merida said bitterly.

We walked out of the Great Hall, and Rapunzel continued talking about the Easter ball, fantasizing about the night. Meanwhile, the rest of us were trying to drown out her bubbly words and focus on anything but the dance.

"Just imagine, the swirling skirts of girls ballgowns-oh!" She gasped suddenly. "Merida, we need to find dresses!"

"No." Merida said instantly. "I'm not wearing some frilly, too tight-"

"I can make them." Rapunzel offered. "Mother taught me to sew long ago. I'll make one for myself, and for you, obviously-"

"What about Jack?" I asked, grinning. "He needs a ballgown too."

"Oh, ha ha Haddock." Jack grumbled.

"I think you'll look great in a ballgown, Frosty." Merida sided with me. "They suit your feminine form."

At this we both began laughing, unable to keep straight faces any longer. When I finally caught my breath, I looked over to see Merida still laughing.

The way the torchlight illuminated her hair, and her smile brightened her face, she looked absolutely beautiful. I became caught in the moment, it being too good to be true. Before anyone caught me staring, I tore my gaze from her and looked straight ahead, so as not to be distracted.

Rapunzel gasped yet again, looking both excited and panicked.

"What's wrong Punzie?" Merida asked her when she finally stopped laughing. "The image of Jack in a ballgown too terrible for your innocent mind?"

"She was probably picturing you in a dress." Jack returned the jab. "Daintily dancing away through the night-"

Jack was cut off by a quick kick to the shins courtesy of Merida.

"Ow! Why do you always find the need to-"

"We have to find dates." Rapunzel said to Merida.

I stumbled, forgetting to walk for a moment. Right. Dates. I had almost forgotten about that part...

There was only one person I could possibly think of going to the dance with, and at the moment she was walking next to me. I couldn't tell what Merida was thinking at the moment, as her fiery mane of curly red hair hid her face. I looked away, feeling heat rushing up to my cheeks.

"Of course." Jack said weakly.

I cast a glance at him, and I saw him looking down at Rapunzel, appearing both terrified and hopeful. He quickly tore his gaze away from her and pulled up a few steps, turning around so he could walk backwards while talking. This way, he could face us while speaking.

"It shouldn't be too hard, right?" He asked.

I couldn't tell if he was trying to reassure us, or looking for reassurance. Still, ever the jokester, he tried to keep the mood light and free of worry, by cracking a joke at my expense.

"Except for you, Hic." He told me, clapping a hand on my shoulder. "Sorry, buddy, but I don't think there's anything even I could do to get you a date."

"Don't call me Hic. It sounds wrong." I told him, shaking his hand off of my shoulder. Despite his joking manner, I couldn't help but worry a little.

I wanted to ask Merida, that much I knew, but what if she didn't want to go with me? I knew she hated the idea of a dance, but would that really affect her decision? What if she decided to go alone, or just not go at all? It wouldn't surprise me, it was nothing short of what everyone else expected her to do.

When we finally reached the Gryffindor common room, we noticed that the Fat Lady was missing. That was the second time this month. What was going on? I knew that the paintings occasionally reported to the Guardians, but this was a little much. That must mean something important was happening. I knew it had everything to do with the ministry officials arriving.

I quickly looked around me, and noticed that many of the other paintings occupants were missing, either not in the right frame's or just not there at all. There was definitely something going on deeper inside the castle, most likely in the headmasters office, where the Ministry Officials more than likely still sat, discussing whatever it was that they had come here to...well, discuss.

"Where's the Fat Lady?" Rapunzel asked the obvious question.

I had my suspicions, but decided not to voice them, and instead opened the door with an unlocking charm. The door swung open beneath my touch and we all walked inside to see a nearly empty common room.

"Where's everyone else?" Jack asked, looking around the room, confused.

"They probably couldn't get in." I explained. "The Fat Lady wasn't in her portrait."

"Works for me." Merida shrugged, and went to go sit down in her usual couch in front of the fire. "Less noise and annoying chatter."

"If I wanted less noise and annoying chatter, I'd ask Jack to leave the room." I teased.

"You are just full of punchy one-liners tonight, aren't you Chief?" Jack demanded, perching himself on the arm of a red loveseat.

I grinned and walked over to sit beside Merida, while Rapunzel took her own seat on either side of us. After a moment of uncomfortable silence, Rapunzel spoke up.

"So, what are you guys going to wear to the ball?" She asked Jack and I, desperately searching for a topic of discussion.

Jack groaned comically, and flopped off of the armrest, onto the seat of the chair, an arm draped dramatically over his eyes. I rolled my eyes and decided to answer first.

"I guess I'm supposed to wear traditional clothes, but..." I trailed off.

Traditional Viking dress wasn't exactly... a good idea for a ball. It mostly concerned more extravagant armor and decorative pieces of metal, furs draped across the shoulders and rough fabric cut into extortionate pieces of clothing. It also weighed approximately a ton, and I had no desire to wear any of it.

"What is everyone else supposed to wear?" Merida asked, her tone laid back. I had a feeling she wasn't particularly interested, but was asking merely for the sake of conversation.

"Traditional dress robes." Rapunzel answered.

"What are those?" Jack asked. He hadn't been raised by a wizard family, and had only known that the wizard world existed a year ago. It wasn't much of a surprise that he didn't know what traditional dress robes looked like.

Rapunzel apparently knew a lot about dress robes, and traditional outfits, because she was more than happy to jump into a lengthy explanation.

"Well, normally dress robes are fancy robes with golden accessories. They have collars with frills, and long sleeves. Most of them are black, with white undershirts, but you can have all sorts of colours too. If you ask me, black and white are boring, but-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Jack held up a hand. "A little too much information all at once, Punz."

"Sorry." Rapunzel answered, blushing slightly. "It's just all too exciting! The first ball Hogwarts has ever had, and it's going to be held during Easter, one of the best celebrations of the year!"

"What do people normally do on Easter?" I asked.

Rapunzel and Merida had explained it to me several times over the years, but Vikings celebrated different events. I found wizard and European celebrations confusing, because most of them lacked purpose. For example, Halloween. Why would you celebrate an entire day designed to scare people? It was literally a celebration of fear. It was a terrible idea, if you asked me.

"Haven't you ever done an egg hunt?" Jack asked me, frowning a little.

"No." I said. "Eggs aren't hunted. They don't move."

"Really?" Rapunzel asked. "I thought you did one two years ago."

"No." I said. "It was Thrimilci on Berk, a required festival."

"Three-mill-key?" Jack said slowly.

"No." I sighed. "Three-meal-si. It's the ending night of the Wild Hunt. The festival of Thrimilci signifies the beginning of Summer. It's basically a festival of joy and fertility, with lot's of feasting and ale."

"Easter's kind of the same." Merida noted. "It's supposed to be joyful, and fertile, I s'pose."

"It signifies a new beginning, full of hope and happiness." Rapunzel continued.

"And you represent all that by not-really-hunting colourful, hollow eggs and chocolate?" I asked, the disbelief and sarcasm evident in my voice.

"Yes." All three of them chorused, completely ignoring my sarcasm.

"Right." I noted, before standing. I looked out the window, and noticed that darkness had descended upon the school grounds. It was the perfect time for a flight.

"I'll see you guys tomorrow. I'm heading back to the common room." I lied out of habit.

"Bye." Jack said, with Rapunzel answering only a moment later.

"Why so early?" Merida asked, suspicious.

"Oh, well, I didn't get much sleep last night." I answered feebly. "Have to catch up if I'm going to, you know, make it through tomorrow. Yeah, well, goodnight."

I left quickly, the door swinging closed behind me silently before Merida could answer. Why was I still lying? They knew about Toothless, they knew about the shadows, so why did I feel the need to continue to keep secrets.

Was it because I had spent nearly a year alone, with only Toothless and vicious shadow creatures as my companions? Had I fallen back into the pattern of keeping everything to myself, unused to having anyone to share my thoughts with?

I realized suddenly that it wasn't because I didn't want them to know, or that I wasn't used to sharing the truth, but because I wasn't going to ride Toothless tonight. I was going to fly on my own.

It was a secret that merited my right to lie.

I sighed as I made my way through the halls silently, very few students straggling before curfew began. I was grateful for this, because it would mean less people seeing me hanging around late at night, and less people to notice me slip outside.

I took a deep breath as I stepped outside and took fast-paced steps towards the forbidden forest, forbidden to everyone but myself. It was almost a part of me now, as much a part of me as Berk was, and as Hogwarts is. I was free here, and I couldn't wait to get inside before transforming.

The moment I hit the treeline, I changed into the elegant dragon that was now my second identity. I felt the power ripple through me, and took off almost immediately, soaring gracefully through the black sky, unseen by anyone save for one.

Those one persons eyes tracked me as I continued gliding through the air, my wings flapping soundlessly against the strong spring breeze. I was unknowingly being watched, and unknowingly, I had revealed my biggest secret to one of the many people who would use it against me.

I landed back in the forest, almost an hour later, and transformed back, right in front of that mysterious persons eyes. I didn't know I was being watched, and I didn't know who was watching me.

I was oblivious to the person hiding in the shadows, and oblivious to the trouble it would cause me. I was careless, and that would be my downfall. As I entered the school, there was a deep laugh, one cold and heartless, bent on destroying me and everything I cared about.

I was oblivious to it as well, and fell asleep dreaming of nothing but darkness.


	43. Chapter 43

**Alright. Big change coming up. I've decided to start writing this story in third person, first person has just begun to sound to clumsy to me to write, and uncomfortable to read. I'll slowly make my way back a few chapters, start changing those as well, but it may take some time. This will hopefully alleviate my poor writer's conscience and aid in further readings. It's a bit of a shift, but I think in the end it will be worth it.**

**Anyways, on with the (newly improved) story! Enjoy!**

**Merida POV**

Merida awoke the next morning to a bright sunrise. She hated having to wake every morning at dawn. She never cared for the extravagant light show the sun rays put on, nor did she enjoy the presence of other people in the mornings.

Merida dressed slowly, not bothering to tuck her shirt in, nor tie her tie properly around her neck. Instead, she let it hang uselessly around her neck, the red colours blending in with her fiery red hair. Merida looked around the room, saw all the girls take longer than usual to prep themselves in front of the mirrors. They all chatted excitedly as they did their hair and straightened out their uniforms. She snorted loudly when she heard what it was they were gossiping about.

"Who do you think Trelliem's going to ask out?" Came one, bright voice.

"I dunno." Came another's shrill answer.

"I hope it's me." Came a quiet, soft voice, and I had to resist the urge to hold back a laugh.

From what Hiccup had told her about the other competitors, Sean was a little lacking in... mental awareness. He asked really obvious questions, and wasn't cunning in any way. Merida didn't think he was stupid, he just wasn't... very fast in the upper levels. At least, not compared to Amélie and Hiccup.

Just thinking about him made Merida's cheeks flush slightly. Ever since that night in the common room, she had felt her many feelings for him grow stronger, and there was now no doubt in her mind that Hiccup was someone special. There was a small amount of doubt still, that perhaps this was just her hormones, or her wish for a stronger friendship, but right along the surface was the surety of her emotions. They had never lied to her before, after all.

She wondered for a second if Hiccup would ask her to the dance, and decided that if he were to ask, she would go. She may actually... enjoy a dance with Hiccup.

At the thought of enjoying a dance, Merida's mind flashed back to the hundreds of balls her mother used to throw at the castle. She remembered how the room was always hot from the sweating bodies of the drunken men, dancing with their sweethearts through the night. How there was never a quiet moment, and how she was always forced into those tight, unbearable silk dresses in the hopes that one of the lords sons would notice the willowy flame of a sullenly reluctant bachelorette.

Merida shuddered violently at the memories, and decided she was in need to exit the room, before all the gossiping and fretting over looks began to affect her thoughts once again.

She rushed down the common rooms stairs and nearly collided with Punzie, who rested at the bottom step.

"Morning, Mer!" Punzie said cheerfully, bright and bubbly as ever in the morning.

"Hey Punz." Merida answered, joining her in sitting at the bottom of the staircase. "What are you sitting here for?"

"I'm waiting for Jack." She answered simply. "He's late. Again."

"Hm. Surprising."

Hiccup's suggestion that Punzie and Jack may have... other feelings for each other had thrown of whatever mental equilibrium Merida may have possessed. The thought of the two of them as more than friends... it was more than a little disorienting. Then again, if Punzie and Jack ever found out about her and Hiccup it wouldn't be much different.

"You don't have to wait for me." Rapunzel told her, offering a thoughtful smile. "Poor Hiccup's probably all alone in the Great Hall, eating by himself..."

Merida raised an eyebrow at her. "Are you trying to get rid of me?"

Punzie blushed slightly. "Course not."

Merida laughed lightly and stood. "It's fine, Punz. I'll see you in a few minutes. If Frosty ever shows up, that is."

"See you, Mer." Punzie said, then turned her attention back to a book Merida hadn't realized she was reading.

Merida left the common room, stepping out of the portrait that concealed the doorway. She walked down the corridors, making her way to the Great Hall. She was hungry, and would never survive her classes on an empty stomach. The thought was terrifying, the idea of facing Pitch with a growling stomach almost made her feel less hungry.

She neared the Great Hall, the noise growing louder in small increments, and entered quietly, searching both Ravenclaw and Gryffindor tables for a certain auburn-headed wizard. As her eyes scanned the bustling crowd as they spoke over breakfast, she saw a hand, waving at her from the back of the room. Hiccup.

Merida smiled and walked over to him, trying to find seats around their usual place, which was a little fuller than usual. The bench surrounding them was full of other girls, trying to be subtle as they stole looks at Hiccup. Merida gritted her teeth and sat between Hiccup and the desperate girls, trying to refrain from glaring at the gaggling group of blondes and brunettes.

"Morning, Merida." Came Hiccups morning greeting.

"Morning." She replied shortly, the girls having put her in a foul mood to start the day. Hiccup caught this and frowned.

"Everything alright?" He asked quietly, sitting a little closer as he leaned over his barely eaten plate.

"I'm fine. Just a little tired." Deciding she needed to turn this conversation around, Merida quickly summoned a new subject sure to distract Hiccup from any not-so-subtle glares cast across the table.

"So, where did you go last night?" She asked him, hiding her suspicion in careful nonchalance.

"I, uh, went to the common room. You know, like I said I would." He answered, seemingly caught off-guard by this question.

Merida snorted. "Sure. And Punzie got suspended for not finishing her homework on time."

Hiccup sighed in defeat and looked back down at his food, picking at it with his fork.

"I went on a flight." He mumbled, eyes darting across the table, making sure no one was eavesdropping.

"Why didn't you just say?" Merida asked, disappointed in the answer, though she had been expecting it. "We all know Toothless has to-"

"Not with Toothless." Hiccup amended, sitting back so he could gauge her reaction.

"Oh." Was all she said. This was different. Flying with Toothless was one thing, but flying on his own...

"I know I said I shouldn't, because I may be caught, but I needed-"

"Hey guys!" Came Rapunzel's voice. Her cheerful tone jolting the two of them. Hiccup was even startled enough to drop his fork loudly onto his plate, then flush red when a few heads turned in his direction at the abrupt sound.

Jack looked only half alive as he sat down at the table, rubbing his eyes. He was obviously tired; he probably spent the night awake. Merida took as an opportunity for revenge.

"Oi, Frosty. You look like you didn't sleep at all." Merida said, feeding him his own line.

"Whatever, Princess." Jack muttered, too exhausted to think of a good reply.

Merida grinned and continued. "You know, you should be getting your beauty rest at night. It's a lot less painful to look at you when you're not half asleep."

"So you admit I'm easy on the eyes when I get my beauty rest?" Jack managed a weak smile.

"I said easier." She scoffed. "You're hard to look at either way."

"Sure, Princess. Everybody know you can't resist all this." He said, lazily gesturing to himself.

"All of what?" Hiccup asked sarcastically.

"Oh, ha ha. Nice one, Horrendous." Jack mumbled, laying his head down on the table.

The remaining three stared down at the young Guardian for a few moments, before deciding to ignore him as he began to take a nap on his plate. It was slightly pathetic, but Merida made a decision to cease in teasing him, at least for the moment.

"Oh! I almost forgot!" Rapunzel exclaimed suddenly, delving into her bag for something.

Merida and Hiccup shared a quick look of confusion as Punzie continued searching through her bag, muttering to herself and occasionally pulling the odd object out to make it easier to search for whatever it is she was looking for.

Finally triumphant, she pulled out what looked like pieces of parchment, though thinner than what we were used to. She slid them across the table, and Merida picked them up. She scanned over the pictures quickly, taking note in how well thought out each one was.

On each one of the three pieces of parchment were two dress designs, totaling in six all together. They were all floor-length gowns, varying in design and colour. Some were very simple, layered dresses, while others were sketched out in precise detail. Some had jewels on them, others were coloured with rich shades of watercolour. Each one of them were beautiful in their own way.

"What are these for?" Merida asked, a little confused as to why she was showing her sketches of ballgowns.

"They're designs for your dress, for the Easter Ball." Punzie stated, as though it were obvious. Merida looked up from the papers, a disbelieving look on her face.

"You weren't kidding when you said you'd make the dresses?" She asked, shocked.

"It's probably the only time we'll ever go to a ball together. The dresses need to be as special as the night." Punzie said, in all seriousness, though she still smiled.

Merida nodded and looked back down to the three pieces of paper in her hand. How was she supposed to choose from all these? Seeing her confused expression, Rapunzel looked at her sympathetically and leaned over the table, so she could see the papers.

"I think this one would look best on you." She told Merida quietly, tapping one of the dresses on the second page.

It was a floor length gown, coloured with bright paint. It was a beautiful shade of dark, Celtic green, with tiny gold stitching woven along the sleeves. The sleeves came down to just below the elbows, and were slit down the center, looking both elegant and functionable. Celtic knots were illustrated wrapping around the middle, just below the rib cage in bright golden paint, which shone in the torchlight.

The result was a beautiful gown, looking like flowing green grass on a windy day. Add what looked like a gold headpiece to the ensemble and it created an impressive image.

"Then I'll choose that one." Merida said finally, handing the pages back to Punzie, who smiled excitedly.

Merida cast a at Hiccup, who was still picking at his food. His brow was furrowed, and he was obviously thinking about something. He didn't seem to hear her when she called his name. She said it a bit louder this time, and he started suddenly, eyes wide as he looked at her.

"I can't decide who's worse, you or Jack. What're you thinking about?" Merida asked as Punzie caused a ruckus trying to place everything back into her too small book bag.

"N-nothing." He stuttered, not fooling anyone. Merida gave him a look, and he sighed.

"Just... last night, when we noticed the Fat Lady was missing, that wasn't the first time this month." He spoke slowly, picking through his words carefully as he explained. He cast a quick look at Jack, who was busy sleeping on his empty breakfast plate.

"You mean she was gone before?" Merida asked. The Fat Lady being missing was unusual in itself, but missing more than once, and in the same month? That was enough to cause suspicion, and Merida had a feeling Hiccup had already felt suspicious for quite some time.

Hiccup nodded, and placed his fork down on the table gently, making sure not to make a noise this time.

"I know that the Guardians use the portraits to spy for them, to keep an eye on the students when they can't." He explained, Merida trying to hold back her surprise. "They report back to them whenever the Guardians have a meeting."

"Are you sure?" She asked.

Using the portraits to spy on the students... that was something very serious. It meant all those times in the hallways, confessing things to her friends, complaining about the teachers themselves, those moments were never private. They were always being watched.

"I've seen it happen." Hiccup said. By now, Rapunzel had managed to stuff the parchment back into her bag, and was listening to him speak with wide eyes.

"When those Ministry officials arrived, more portraits than just the Fat Lady went missing." Hiccup told us.

"Sir Lancelot in the eastern corridor, he was missing." Punzie chimed in, adding even more proof to Hiccup's already hard facts.

Merida nodded, thinking back to last nights walk down the corridors. It had seemed rather quiet, with none of the portraits usual chatter to fill the silence.

"This is big." Hiccup said, suddenly much more somber. "And I think... I think it has something to do with the tournament, and the fact that I'm a champion."

She paused for a moment. It would make sense, after all, Hiccup was a wanted criminal in some of the ministry officials eyes. All because he was the subject of a dark prophecy no one was even sure meant something important. He hadn't actually committed any crimes, just the fact that he was here was enough to spur them into action.

"You think they're trying to find ways to sabotage you in the tournament?" Merida asked.

Hiccup shook his head. "I think they want me to win."

At that moment, the plates and food disappeared from the table, and Jack woke up as his head collided with the hard surface of the table. He cursed once and groaned as he pulled himself up into a sitting position.

"What do you mean?" Rapunzel asked, her bright green eyes wide with curiosity.

Hiccup paused for a moment and looked behind him suddenly. Merida looked over her shoulder as well, trying to see what he spotted. Of course. Just what Merida bloody needed. Girls.

"Hi." One of them said, a loud blonde with dark brown eyes.

"Yes?" Merida demanded, blue eyes aflame.

The blonde took one look at her unruly red hair, un-tucked shirt, and careless demeanor before switching her attention back over to Hiccup and Jack.

"You boys have dates to the Easter Ball yet?" She asked, her wavy-haired brunette friend joining her.

Merida saw Jack blink confusedly and Hiccup splutter on his drink. With wide eyes, Hiccup coughed once and placed his drink back on the table. Jack, however, straightened up, suddenly awake.

"Uh, no. I uh, no. No." Hiccup stammered, avoiding eye contact.

"Oh." Said the blonde, smiling. "What about you, Frost?"

"No." Jack said, rather icily. Then, plastering a careless smirk on his face he covered up the rather harsh reply. "But I'm thinking of asking someone."

At this, her brunette friend looked a little disappointed. The blonde only continued smiling, much to my annoyance.

"Well, you can find us at Slytherin table... if you're interested." The blonde concluded.

The second they left, all four of them sighed a breath of relief, sharing knowing looks of exasperation with each other.

"Oh gods." Hiccup muttered, taking a long swig from his goblet.

"Did they even tell us their names?" Jack asked, not directing the question to anyone in particular. Merida scoffed, trying to cool down her temper.

"I hate girls like that." She said aloud. "Fake smiles, batting eyelashes, high-pitched giggles and gossiping."

"News flash, Mer." Jack said, still rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "You're going to be seeing that all week."

"Looking forward to it." She muttered, unable to keep the small trace of anger from her voice.

"We should get going." Punzie announced, standing up suddenly, clutching her book bag. "We have Charms next."

They all stood silently, lost in their own thoughts. Merida wanted to break the silence. It reminded her too much of awkward family dinners at the casle, everyone somber after another argument between her and her mother.

"So, Frosty." She began. She saw Hiccup sigh, knowing where this was going. "When you said you were thinking of asking someone... "

"What?" Jack asked. "That was a cover story."

"Yeah, right." Merida scoffed. "So, who's the unlucky lady?"

"No one." Jack said, suddenly defensive. "I made it up."

Merida cast a quick look at Rapunzel, who appeared very uncomfortable. She sighed. It seemed as though those girls had ruined more than just one mood this morning. They continued walking in since down to Charms class, only to be surprised by something very unpleasant upon arrival.

"You have got to be kidding me." Hiccup exclaimed upon entering.

"Welcome students!" Prof. Toothiana called out cheerfully. "Come take a seat! We'll be starting ballroom dancing in a few minutes."


End file.
